Advani beats Sitwala to clinch Asian Billiards title in Doha

Doha: India's ace cueist Pankaj Advani defeated compatriot Dhruv Sitwala 6-2 to win his eighth title at the 19th Asian 100 UP Billiards Championship 2022 at the Qatar Billards and Snooker Federation Hall yesterday.

This is Advani's 40th international title and 8th Asian crown.

The tournament saw the participation of 13 cueists representing five countries: India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and South Korea.

In the final which lasted for three and a half hours, Advani won the first frame against Sitwala, a two-time Asian Billiards champion, before following it up with a smooth century break to extend the lead to 2-0. In the third frame, Advani opened up a 84-14 lead and went up three frames to nil and resorted to white pot at 87 and positioned it well for a red in-off the spot.

Sitwala fought back and pulled one back when his famed opponent missed a red early in the frame. He came up with a 82 break to reduce the lead.

Advani won the fifth frame to establish a 4-1 lead and stormed ahead to take the sixth too. 

Sitwala capitalised on a miss by his countryman to take the seventh frame before Advani re-focussed to capture the eighth frame despite an impressive break by his opponent for a 6-2 triumph.

Earlier, Advani had held off the stiff challenge of Pauk Sa of Myanmar to secure a spot in the final. He managed a 5-4 win after his opponent fought back strongly to level the match at four frames each.

Advani praised the organization of the tournament, as well as the international and Asian championships hosted by Qatar during the recent period, praising the wonderful atmosphere in Doha, which annually hosts one of the world or continental championships.

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