Pankaj Advani sails through to Asian Snooker Championship knockouts

Pankaj Advani, who had been rampant in the group stage, followed it up with another dominating display in the final group game. Having beaten Saudi Arabia’s Sulaiman Almisfer 4-0 (84-26, 81-6, 76-23, 70-15) in the first game and then putting local favorite Ali Alobaidli to the sword in another straight frames 4-0 win (75-24, 138-4, 133-0, 84-28), the Indian ace took on Phillippines’ Alvin Barbero on Monday.

Without wasting much time, Advani wrapped up the game 4-0, also scoring a break of 90 in his 3rd frame to enter the knockouts. Advani later told The Statesman, “I am glad to have hit the ground running at the Championship. The breaks on Day 2 and 3 have definitely helped with my confidence level going into the knock-out stages. However, the competition has just started and I will work towards staying focused and delivering my best at the table."

Other Indians at the Championships included Ishpreet Singh Chadha and Sundeep Gulati. The former beat Iranian Soheil Vahedi 4-0(63-56, 74-17, 68-39, 78-11), while the latter lost to Lim Chun Kiat 3-4, losing the deciding 7th frame 44-70.