JOIN USIndia’s B Bhaskar defeated Fan Kiang Siang to stay in contention for a quarterfinal spot in the Asian Billiards Championship here on Wednesday.
Having suffered a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of compatriot Rupesh Shah on Tuesday, the 41-year-old needed a win desperately and he produced a fine show to beat Fan Kian Sang 4-1 (102 (86)-19, 68-100, 103 (91)-43, 100 (100)-0, 101-29) in a Group C encounter.
Bhaskar started well, producing a break of 86 points to pocket the opening frame. Fan, however, hit back on the next game to level proceedings at 1-1. Knowing the importance of this do-or-die encounter, Bhaskar then stepped on the pedal, smashing a 91-point break to seize the third before conjuring a 100 to put himself within one frame of victory. He then won the fifth rather comfortably to keep his hopes alive.
Myanmar’s Nay Thway Oo stormed into the quarterfinals with a thrilling 4-3 win over India’s Dhvaj Haria (102 (79)-16, 100 (91)-55, 54-100 (92), 100 (100)-28, 96-100, 0-100 (74), 101 (71)-5).
Dhvaj staged a fine comeback after being 1-3 down to push the game into the decider. However, Nay picked up his game just when it mattered most, registering a break of 71 points to nail Dhvaj’s hopes.