Reigning champion Pankaj Advani reasserted his dominance and retained his crown as he produced another virtuoso performance to hand challenger Kamal Chawla a 8-3 defeat in the best-of-15-frame final of the Rs 12.5 lakh prize-money CCI Snooker Classic 2024, organised by the Cricket Club of India and played at the CCI’s Sir Wilson Jones billiards hall on Sunday.
Champion Pankaj Advani and runner-up Kamal Chawla (left) pose with their trophies in the CCI Classic Snooker.
“I credit my opponent Kamal (Chawla), he played some fantastic snooker in this tournament. I think he also had a little tougher draw, so maybe I was just a little more fresh and relaxed before the final, but he played some amazing players all the way till the final. So congratulations Kamal,” a modest Advani said after collecting his crystal ‘Champions’ trophy and the winners’ cheque of Rs three lakhs. Chawla was presented with the runners-up trophy and a cheque of Rs 1.5 lakh.
On having retained his trophy and third title at CCI, Advani who had also won the CCI Classic Billiards last year, said “It’s never easy to defend a title, because everybody is gunning to get the better of you. As I said, I have been really comfortable playing at CCI and it probably brings out the best in me and I enjoy my game more than anything else. This time it was a little bit difficult as I had to dig deeper as some of the youngsters put me under pressure, in the initial rounds I was down 2-0, 3-1, but somehow I managed to find a way to get back.”
India’s most decorated sportsperson, Advani showcased his prowess on the green baize as he potted with a high degree of accuracy and consistency. The dapper cueist Advani with some clever tactical play managed to quash the challenge from the tall lanky Chawla who put up quite a strong fight as he tried to match the Bengaluru based cueist, who seemed in no mood to take things easy.
Advani made his intentions clear from the start as he rolled in a break of 76 to take the first frame before Chawla struck a half century effort of 50 points to level the scores. The articulate Advani playing fluently grabbed the next two to open up a 3-1 lead. But, a determined Chawla with some steady pots won the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2 at the break.
After the break, Chawla had a great opportunity to win the sixth, but squandered a substantial 49 points lead, as Advani clawed his way back to snatch the frame and extend the lead 4-2. Advani then compiled a break of 66 to pocket the next to swell the lead to 5-2 before Chawla with a neat break of 71 grabbed the eighth frame to cut the lead.
Advani narrowly won the ninth, but then he killed the contest and dashed Chawla’s hopes of making a fight back as he produced two magnificent efforts of 122 clearance and a crafty 72 to wrap up the match. The champion cruised to a 75-12, 1-58, 64-39, 63-29, 7-75, 66-64, 94-5, 0-81, 64-47, 122-8, and 72-9 victory.
Result – Final: Pankaj Advani beat Kamal Chawla 8-3 (75(67)-12, 1-58(50), 64-39, 63-29, 7-75, 66-64, 94(66)-5, 0-81(71), 64-47, 122(122)-8, 72(72)-9).