Shabbir eases past Prathima; claims title

Shabbir, who played in the shadow of Dhruv Sarda and Prathima for most part of the tournament, stepped into his own as he charged to grab the first game 210-154 and followed it up with a comfortable 185-128 win in the second game to be crowned champion.

Prathima ousted title favourite Dilbir Singh in a thrilling quarterfinal contest. Prathima claimed the first game 179-166 but Dilbir came back strong and levelled the odds with a 244-154 win in the second game. In the decider, Prathima edged out Dilbir 166-153 to move through to the semifinals and eventually bag the runner-up trophy.

Results (best of three games): Final: Shabbir Dhankot (TN, 210, 185) bt Prathima Hegde (Kar, 154, 128). Semifinal: Prathima (155, 162, 222) bt Dhruv Sarda (Del, 229, 160, 180); Shabbir (214, 186, 209) bt Girish Ashok Gaba (Kar, 213, 202, 181). Quarterfinal: Dhruv (197, 223) bt Shashi Kumar (Kar, 189, 165); Prathima (179, 154, 166) bt Dilbir Singh (WB, 166, 244, 153); Shabbir (226, 206, 189) bt Vijay Punjabi (Kar, 178, 214, 180); Gaba (192, 204, 233) bt NP Singh (Del, 222, 191, 192).