Bombay Gymkhana’s Gulham Vahanvati and Mahadev Bhogle of Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana scored contrasting second round victories in the Bombay Gymkhana Handicap Billiards Tournament, and played at the Bombay Gym’s billiards room.
Bombay Gym’s Kaizad Fitter poses after his win against Iqbal Rokadia of Elphinstone CC and to advance into the second round of the Bombay Gymkhana Handicap Billiards Tournament.
Playing with a scratch handicap, Vahanvati showed plenty of grit and determination as he staved off a strong challenge from Elphinstone CC’s Sunil Jain (-130 handicap) by a mere four points difference. In an intense and hard-fought encounter Vahanvati held his nerves and with clever safety approach towards the end, managed to scrape past Jain by a slim 200-196 points margin and book his spot in the third and final qualifying round of the competition.
Meanwhile in a match between equally matched cueists, the JVPG player Bhogle (-100) displayed better consistency and easily sailed past Malabar Hill Club’s Rajesh Mayavanshi (-110) by 200-108 margin of victory.
In first round matches, seasoned pros Mahesh Jagdale of Elphinstone CC and Manav Panchal of Malabar Hill Club, both playing with steep handicaps quite comfortably marched into the second round.
Jagdale (-230) showed excellent form and made perfect contact with the balls. He managed a break of 52 and went on to defeat Deependra Pinkyar (-70) of Shivaji Park Gymkhana 200-167. Panchal (-120) was also in complete control against Elphinstone’s Kersi Gandhi (-25) and strolled to a 200-156 win.
Bombay Gym’s Kaizad Fitter (-100) made full advantage of the home conditions and outshone Iqbal Rokadia (-35) of Elphinstone CC by cruising to a 200-72 without any difficulty.
Results – Second round: Ghulam Vahanvati (BG, SCR) beat Sunil Jain (ECC, -130) 200-196(47); Mahadev Bhogle (JVPG, -100) beat Rajesh Mayavanshi (MHC, -110) 200-108;
First round: Manav Panchal (MHC, -120) beat Kersi Gandhi (ECC, -25) 200-156; Mahesh Jagdale (ECC, -230) beat Deependra Pinkyar (SPG, -70) 200(52)-167; Anurag Bagri (Elphinstone CC, -110) beat Kishore Laungani (Khar Gym, -70) 200-93; Kaizad Fitter (Bombay Gym, -100) beat Iqbal Rokadia (ECC, -35) 200-72; Ankit Thakkar (Matunga Gym, -110) beat Baikrao Pacharne (CCI, -50) 200-188.