Bhaskar enters quarterfinals

Fresh from his 10th successive title triumph in the KSBA State-ranking billiards tournament, the affable cueist initially struggled to find his rhythm against a stubborn Rajeev Duseja late on Wednesday before finding his touch in an impressive victory over Francis Joe at the ECA club on Thursday.

Playing with a handicap of -900, Bhaskar opened his Group D account with a nervy 151-146 win over Duseja and then confirmed his last-four ticket with an authoritative 150-35 defeat of Joe.

Oozing class, Bhaskar posted the tournament’s highest break of 215 in his impressive show against Joe. He also posted breaks of 117, 93 and 88.

Dhruv Sitwala and Devendra Joshi, other strong contenders for the title, got off the blocks in blazing fashion on Wednesday evening. Sitwala rode on two century breaks to roll over L Nagaraj 151-95,while  Joshi blanked Jasim Tavin 150-14.

Junior State-ranking champion Mundir Sherazi, who suffered a stunning loss to ML Laxman, bounced back in splendid style, defeating Nagaraj 151-82.

Results: On Thursday: Group A: IH Manudev (-500): 150 (120) bt Wilson Fernandes (-250): 131.
Group B: Mundir Sherazi (-500): 151 (84, 62) bt L Nagaraj (-350): 82.
Group C: Rajeev Duseja (-250): 150 bt R Umadevi Nagaraj (-275): 85; B Bhaskar (-900): 150 (215, 117, 93, 88, 61) bt Francis Joe (-200): 35.
Group D: Jasim Tavin (-225): 150 bt Sasha Sambi (-300): 55.
On Wednesday: Group B: Dhruv Sitwala (-900): 151 (122, 121, 96, 73, 72, 68, 66) bt L Nagaraj (-350): 95.
Group C: B Bhaskar (-900): 151 (84, 80, 135) bt Rajeev Duseja (-250): 146. Group D: Devendra Joshi (-900): 150 (228, 133, 116, 104, 82, 67) bt Jasim Tavin (-225): 14.