After becoming the first Indian to enter the semifinals of an international professional snooker tournament, Pankaj Adavni lost to world number one, England's Mark Selby, in a keenly-fought last-four contest of the European Tour-1 Paul Hunter Classic here.
Seven-time World champion, Advani put up a brave fight against the veteran Englishman and stretched his opponent to the limit before eventually losing 2-4.
In a clash of the best, Selby proceeded to pocket the first frame denying Advani even a single point. Displaying excellent technique, Advani once again used a combination of defence and attack to score a break of 50 in the second frame, equalising the scores to a frame apiece.
Not to be left behind, Selby proceeded to pocket the next two frames to lead 3-1 only to have Advani fight back, narrowing the lead to 2-3.
In the sixth frame, Selby constructed a break of 87 to win the game 4-2. Advani had defeated Ryan Day of Wales in the quarterfinals yesterday while on Friday, he had emerged victorious against former World no 1 John Higgins.
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