Pankaj Advani Wins His 11th National Billiards Title

Ace cueist Pankaj Advani defended his national billiards title his 11th in the tournament after he defeated his PSPB teammate Dhruv Sitwala 5-2 in a best of nine games final here. Advani responded with breaks of 56 and 46 to restore parity at 1-1 after Sitwala’s breaks of 64 and 42 late on the evening of December 20.

Sitwala, displaying excellent in-offs, pots and cannons, surged ahead by pocketing the third game with a sizeable break of 84.He was on course to even wrest the fourth game after he compiled a wonderful effort of 101, but a costly lapse by him gave a window of opportunity to Advani.

“Dhruv is a very close friend of mine, we share all the sneak peaks of our lives. To be honest, it is never easy to play against your best friend in the finals of a major event like this. But, after the snooker failures, this victory gives me a sense of redemption,” Advani was quoted as saying in a media statement issued here on Tuesday.

“The National Billiards Championship is surely a tough tournament to crack. I’m thrilled and grateful to lift my 11th Senior Billiards title, it is also my 35th title overall. So, I am more than happy and feeling deeply satisfied,” Pankaj signed off.