Pankaj Advani advances to pre-quarters of Asian Snooker Championship
Image Courtesy: © Facebook - Pankaj Advani
Fifteen-time world champion Pankaj Advani entered the pre-quarters of the Asian Snooker Championship on Wednesday, after defeating Iraq’s Alijali Ali 4-1. The Indian ace won his fourth successive match of the tournament with a scoreline of 78-54, 107-2, 74-9, 29-65, 57-44 to enter the last 16.
After his three-match winning streak in the group stage without losing a single frame, Indian cueist Pankaj Advani continued his impressive run in the tournament defeating Alijali Ali of Iraq in the last-32 stage. Advani, who finished as runner-up in the last edition of the tournament, won the first three frames 78-54, 107-2, 74-9 to go into a 3-0 lead before conceding the fourth frame to Alijali Ali 29-65. However, he bounced back from the loss and won the fifth frame 57-44 to confirm his place in the pre-quarters.
Speaking to the media after his win, Advani said starting the knockout stages with a win will help in the later stages of the tournament.
“It is good to start on a winning note in the knockout stages as it acts as a confidence booster, a necessity in tournaments of this level,” Advani was quoted as saying by IANS.
The title favourite will next face fellow countrymen and 2015 National Sub-Junior Snooker Winner, 19-year-old Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the pre-quarter-final on Thursday. Ishpreet made his way into the last 16 after defeating Mohammed Al Joaker of UAE 4-1 in the last 32 stage.
“I look forward to facing promising talent such as Ishpreet who has been making quite an impression on the national snooker circuit. I am sure this will be a challenging yet exciting encounter,” Advani said.
Other Indians in the fray, Sundeep Gulati, and Manan
