Pankaj Advani becomes first Indian to hold all billiards and snookers titles simultaneously
Pankaj Advani defeated Pandurangaiah of Railways 6-0 in a one-sided final of the Indian National Snooker Championship at Pune on Thursday to clinch his 29th national title overall. The 31-year-old has now become the first Indian to hold all the billiards and snooker titles at once.
After winning the 15-red snooker national championship and the 6-red snooker national championship, Pankaj Advani had questioned how he continues to be ignored for the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government. That query is only about to get stronger as he thrashed Pandurangaiah in the final of the Indian National Snooker Championship to win his 29th national title.
After booking his place in the finals with a 5-2 win over Sundeep Gulati of New Delhi, Advani put on a flawless show in the championship match at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana. The Bengaluru-born star scored breaks in every frame, 50, 75, 64, 50 and 78 respectively, except the second in the final. His opponent was reduced to being a mere spectator as he strolled to the title.
Final Result: Pankaj Advani defeated Pandurangaiah 6-0: 83(50)-1, 52-34, 76(75)-0, 65(64)-18, 82(50)-25, 79(78)-28.
The final top 8 standings of the National Snooker Championship: 1. Pankaj Advani 2. Pandurangaiah 3. Malkeet Singh 4. Sundeep Gulati 5. Laxman Rawat 6. A. Arvind Kumar 7. Dharmendra Lily 8. Anuj Uppal.
