Mohammad Hussain Khan of Western Railway displayed a solid will-power and amazing fighting qualities as he staged a grand recovery to snuff out the challenge from Delhi’s Aditya Bhalla by pulling off a tight 3-2 win in a best-of-5-frame pre-quarter-final match of the Khar Gymkhana Open Handicap Snooker Tournament 2018, and played at the Khar Gymkhana billiards room.
PJ Hindu Gymkhana’s Anand Raghuvanshi defeated Elphinstone CC’s Anurag Bagri 3-1 in a pre-quarter-final match of the Khar Gymkhana Open Handicap Snooker Tournament 2018.
The Railway cueist Khan (+25) took off on the slow track and conceded the first two to frames to his Delhi opponent Bhalla (+35) who grabbed his chances to take a 2-0 lead. But, Khan showed that he is made of sterner stuff and went on to win a close third frame to cut the deficit. That win boosted his confidence as he picked up steam and started to strike the balls with better accuracy and more consistently. He rolled in a composed break of 69 in the fourth before going on to also pocket the fifth to complete a well-deserved 89-92, 66-94, 88-77, 108-35 and 132-59 victory to confirm his ticket to the quarter-finals.
Otters Club’s Abhimanyu Gandhi defeated Hindu Gymkhana’s Hitesh Kotwani 3-1 in a pre-quarter-final match of the Khar Gymkhana Open Handicap Snooker Tournament 2018.
In another closely contested encounter, Malabar Hill Club’s Manan Shah (+45) beat back a spirited fight from JVPG’s seasoned player Chandresh Shah (+40) by posting a 3-2 victory. Manan Shah quickly took off the blocks and opened up a 2-0 lead before the veteran cueist Chandresh came back in contention by pocketing the next two to force the decider. Manan held his nerves to narrowly win the fifth to secure a 127-55, 103-98, 56-96, 88-94 and 93-91 win.
In other matches, Hindu Gymkhana’s Anand Raghuvanshi (+20) prevailed over Elphinstone CC’s Anurag Bagri (+30) 3-1 (94-49, 27-104, 92-42, 87-36), while Otters Club player Abhimanyu Gandhi (+10) defeated Hindu Gymkhana’s Hitesh Kotwani (+30) 3-1 (90(47)-45, 74-65, 47-81, 103-52) to also progress to the last 16 round.
Pre-quarter-final: AnandRaghuvanshi (Hindu Gym, +20) beat Anurag Bagri (ECC, +30) 3-1 (94(49)-49, 27-104(42), 92-42, 87(37)-36);
Abhimanyu Gandhi (Otters, +10) beat Hitesh Kotwani (Hindu Gym, +30) 3-1 (90(47)-45, 74-65, 47-81, 103-52);
Mayank Bhavsar (KVSC, +25) beat Anant Mehta (NSCI, +45) 3-2 (92-85, 63-99, 107-85, 77-92, 103-71);
Pankaj Basantani (Ulhasnagar, +40) beat Mahadev Bhogle (JVPG, +35) 3-1 (122-99, 81-93, 96-56, 98-74);
Manan Shah (MHC, +45) beat Chandresh Shah (JVPG, +40) 3-2 (127-55, 103-98, 56-96, 88-94, 93-91);
Ajinkya Yelve (NSCI, +30) beat John Vasava (Gujarat, +45) 3-1 (92-91, 57-100, 107-53, 101-63);
Mohammad Hussain Khan (Western Railway, +25) beat Aditya Bhalla (Delhi, +35) 3-2 (89-92, 66-94, 88-77, 108(69)-35, 132-59).