Two-time Asian champion Yasin Merchant scored a hard-fought win over Karnataka’s D Rajkumar in the snooker selection trials for the Macau Asian Indoor Games and the World Championship at the KSBA hall here on Monday.
The Mumbaikar scored a 16-81, 42-65, 81-33, 22-58, 68-53, 71-14, 87-36 to begin his campaign on a winning note in the six-player field. Former National champions Pankaj Advani and Sarang Shroff pulled out of the trials due to various reasons. The top eight from the Nationals are eligible to take part in the trials.

Manan Chandra notched twin wins on the day, including a stunning 4-2 win over National champion Alok Kumar. The Delhi pro defeated Rupesh Shah later in the day.

Shah had earlier accounted for Bhopal’s Kamal Chawla 4-1. Chawla then bounced back to floor Alok Kumar 4-2.
In the billiards trials for the IBSF World Championships beginning in Singapore next month, Rupesh Shah, Geet Sethi and Dhruv Sitwala made it to the Indian team. Bangalore cueist Advani, the reigning champion, gets a direct entry into the 11-day bash beginning on September 4.

Results:
Snooker: Rupesh Shah bt Kamal Chawla 4-1 (58-62, 68-37, 124-0, 61-10, 66-48); Yasin Merchant bt D Raj Kumar 4-3 (16-81, 42-65, 81-33, 22-58, 68-53, 71-14, 87-36); Manan Chandra bt Alok Kumar 4-2 (57-45, 13-79, 17-111, 77-39, 62-26, 70-58); M Chandra bt R Shah 4-1 (82-32, 117-14, 14-88, 56-36, 93-0); K Chawla bt A Kumar 4-2 (60-15, 45-57, 0-85, 69-4, 124-0, 68-60).

Billiards: Ashok Shandilya: 914 bt Devendra Joshi: 621.

Rankings (overall): Pankaj Advani (direct entry). Rupesh Shah 1; Geet Sethi 2; Dhruv Sitwala 3; Ashok Shandilya 4; Devendra Joshi 5; Alok Kumar 6; B Bhaskar 7.