Indians in roaring form

World amateur snooker champion Pankaj Advani played an absolute thriller to edge out Eugene Hughes of the Republic of Ireland 14-151, 150-96...

World amateur snooker champion Pankaj Advani played an absolute thriller to edge out Eugene Hughes of the Republic of Ireland 14-151, 150-96, 150-5, 151-138 in a Group 8216;E8217; match of the World Billiards Championship here on Tuesday.

It was that one missed canon in the fourth frame with the Irishman leading 114-98 that changed the face of the game. Hughes was also leading 2-1 in the frame scores at the time. There was a bit of an anti-climax at the end of that frame. When Hughes was on 114, Advani showed his class and reached 148 but missed and could go no further. Hughes scored only five on his next visit.

Advani could not score on his next visit also. Back to Hughes then who went on to 138. All Advani had to do was a long-distance canon. The red and the yellow balls were in the baulk area and Advani executed a rebound with pin-point precision. Earlier, Hughes was in top form and took the first frame without a sweat.

But Advani8217;s match temperament is such that he can hit back at any time and in any tight situation. That is just what he did in the subsequent frames. Advani8217;s screw-back canons were a delight to watch and won the hearts of spectators and players alike. However, Hughes was no pushover. He has been in the top 16 in the world in billiards. He was able to get out of tight situations time and again but Tuesday was Advani8217;s day.

Other Indians, Rishab Thukral, Siddharth Parikh, Alok Kumar and pro B Bhaskar also scored easy wins against their respective opponents in their opening group matches.

Australian player Matthew Bolton kicked off his campaign in style with a 150-58, 152-100, 151-18 win over South African Peter Francisco in Group 8216;A8217;.

Bolton looked in cracking form right from the start but after the match felt he could have done even better. Save the second frame, when Bolton lost his concentration a little bit, the Aussie held the reins of the match. After a couple of low-scoring visits, Bolton produced a break of 75 on his fourth visit. He was in full flow and looked calm and composed. In top table play, there was a good mix of pots, canons and in-offs. Even his long jennies were bang on target. Bolton polished off the first frame 150-58 with an unfinished break of 40.

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Francisco looked promising in the initial part of the second frame and raced to a 35-2 lead. But in doing so he had asked for it and Bolton was more than glad to give it to him. A 60 break further consolidated Bolton8217;s position. Bolton crushed a late charge from his rival to take the second frame 152-100. The icing on the cake for Bolton was in the third frame. His 120 break on his eighth visit sealed the win. Bolton was concentration personified. He got a baulk line warning at 82 and crossed the baulk line with 98 points on his current visit. From then it was just the formalities as Bolton garnered his first win.