Doha: India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani overcame a stiff challenge from Pauk Sa of Myanmar to enter the final of the Asian Billiards Championship here on Saturday.
In the first game, Advani missed after scoring 18 points and Pauk Sa imposed a well-crafted break of 71 points. However, Advani secured the first game by having a counter break of 82 points.
In the second game, Advani compiled a century break to claim a 2-0 lead. He was moving ahead with 30 points in the third frame when Pauk Sa took control and crafted a break of 70 points.
That win put Pauk Sa in a commanding position, and in the next game, he made an uninterrupted century break to level the match.
However, Advani, countered his opponent with a break of 101 to wrest back the lead. Pauk Sa made another strong comeback but before he could level again, he missed on 97 and Advani recovered to take a 4-2 lead.
In the next two games, Pauk Sa made decent breaks of 61 and 67 points to level the match to pull Advani into the decider.
In the deciding game, Pauk Sa was in all control initially but when he missed after 48 points, Advani showed his class and returned with an uninterrupted break of 100 points to win the match and secure his final berth.
“I am enthralled to discover the further matches of the Asian Championship 2022. So far it has been full of unpredictable moments. All my competitors have demonstrated their best efforts in it. I’ve so far tried to focus on my individual game and hoping for the best to come out in the finals,” Advani was quoted as saying in a release by his team.
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