Maximum glory for Mehta

 Aditya Mehta etched his name in the history books after posting the maximum break of 147 during the selection camp for the Asian Indoor Games here at the KSBA Hall on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old, who had already finished on top of the standings to earn a berth for the continental meet, was up against Brijesh Damani in his final league match. Damani was 2-1 up and looked set to come out on top when he forced Mehta to foul to earn four points early on in the fourth frame. Consequently, Damani missed a red pot and when Mehta returned to the table, things changed dramatically.

Mehta potted 15 reds and 15 blacks to go with every coloured ball to garner the full 147 points and become only the second Indian after Geet Sethi to achieve the feat.

Mehta sank to ground after his stunning effort and then romped home to a 3-2 (82-16, 46-72, 0-72, 147 (147)-4, 66-64) win in the end.

Sethi had achieved a 147-break against Kerala’s Nasar Latiff in the National Championship at Guntur in 1988.

Players and officials cut a cake to laud his effort while BSFI secretary S Balasubramaniam announced a reward of Rs 14,700 to mark the occasion. “I have no words to express what I fell right now,” Mehta said over the phone. “To become only the second person after Geet Sethi to achieve is the feat a great honour.”

“When I was on 48, I felt like I could probably go for it. I had scored four or five blacks by then so I was confident. I had no idea I was going to score 147. I just played freely and given that I had already qualified for the Asian Indoor Games, I didn’t feel any pressure so it was much easier,” said the Mumbai-based cueist.

When asked if he had scored 147 at any point in his career, Mehta said: “Around five years ago, I made a 147-break during practice and that was the only time. It’s a very rare feat. Not something that happens often.”

Meanwhile Sethi lauded Mehta’s stunning effort. “A fantastic achievement by a very dedicated player, who richly deserves all the accolades. Words cannot explain my joy and happiness.”

Meanwhile, Mehta and Kamal Chawla, who finished first and second in the overall standings, will represent India in the individual snooker event while the duo will be joined by Damani in the three-man team event.

Results: Rafath Habib bt Neeraj Kumar 3-0 (72-9, 54-13, 60-24); Brijesh Damani bt Manan Chandra 3-2 (28-90, 68-24, 0-80, 71-24, 75-9); Amir Hussain bt IH Manudev 3-2 (64-67, 75-24, 75-32, 53-68, 70-63); Aditya Mehta bt Kamal Chawla 3-1 (64-56, 65-38, 43-76, 75-42); Shivam Arora bt Vijay Nichani 3-1 (1-64, 56-46, 66-61, 69-22); Kamal C bt Rafath H 3-1 (69-61, 89-12, 33-68, 60-17); Amir H BT Vijay N 3-1 (22-82, 55-45, 59-48, 53-30); Manudev bt Himanshu Jain 3-1 (53-41, 50-41, 15-68, 98-57); Shivam A bt Neeraj K 3-1 (38-55, 53-51, 70-31, 60-46); Aditya M bt Manan C 3-2 (72-17, 26-75, 68 (53)-31, 20-66, 77 (65)-0); Himanshu Jain bt Neeraj K 3-1 (89-44, 26-81, 87 (87)-0, 70-34); Manudev bt Vijay N 3-2 (38-68, 74-33, 72-29, 52-62, 67-25); Brijesh D bt Rafath H 3-1 (11-74, 67-50, 96-29, 72-4); Kamal C bt Amir H 3-1 (95-52, 47-61, 66-26, 61-31); Manan C bt Shivam A 3-2 (67-1, 10-84, 14-64, 75-47, 70-40); Neeraj K bt Amir H 3-2 (95-39, 65-50, 5-67, 33-56, 57-16); Manan C bt Rafath H 3-0 (72-34, 69-13, 64-25); Himanshu J bt Vijay N 3-1 (52-3, 47-57, 55-37, 77-9); Kamal C bt Shivam A 3-1 (82 (43)-4, 44-62, 71 (57)-4, 72 (64)-0); Aditya M bt Brijesh D 3-2 (82-16, 46-72, 0-72, 147 (147)-4, 66-64).

Standings: Aditya Mehta 1; Kamal Chawla 2; Brijesh Damani 3.