Mehta grabs maiden crown
It was not so much a spectacular climax to the 25-year-old Mehta’s campaign as a fitting return to his consistency that marked his progress through the tournament despite not being at his very best, he showcased his consistent potting skills.
For Alok Kumar, the defeat topped a disappointing outing in the championship where he lost his billiards crown and then went down in the snooker final that he would have surely won on another day given the chances he had in the three-hour final on Tuesday.
“I have been dreaming of this day for many years now. I came close to realizing it in 2008, but lost to Pankaj Advani in the final. This time, I was determined to win the title,” said Mehta.
Mehta was even more thrilled that his mother witnessed his triumph. “I hardly get to see my mother because of my snooker commitments and it was special that she was here to watch me win,” said Mehta.
Despite the wide margin of victory, virtually every frame was touch-and-go as neither player was on top of his game. While the 42-year-old Alok, winner of the 2007 title, continued to struggle, Mehta played it smart, trying to make every visit to the table count.
“It was one of those days when things were not really going my way, or for that matter, Alok’s. So I decided to take what was on offer,” Mehta said. Earlier in the day, two first-timers in the semifinals, Karnataka’s IH Manudev and Neeraj Kumar of Bihar allowed the occasion to get the better of them, losing 0-5 and 3-5 to Mehta and Alok, respectively.
Neither match distinguished itself as worthy of the occasion. If Mehta was in a league of his own, though not at his peak, his opponent Manudev was cramped, unsure and woefully short on confidence.
Alok and Neeraj were involved in a scrappy contest that was more about mistakes than quality snooker with the player committing fewer errors emerging winner.
Results: Final (best of 11 frames): Aditya Mehta (PSPB) bt Alok Kumar (PSPB) 6-2 (66-6, 6-63, 72-65, 67-41, 67-10, 74-58, 43-52, 82-5).
Semifinals: (best of 9 frames): Aditya Mehta (PSPB) bt IH Manudev (Kar) 5-0 (65-5, 67-12, 79-6, 70-34, 64-16); Alok Kumar (PSPB) bt Neeraj Kumar (Railways) 5-3 (34-86, 78-40, 75-10, 74-16, 56-50, 36-63, 55-63, 61-49).
Third-lace playoff: Neeraj Kumar (Rlys) bt IH Manudev (Kar) 4-0.