<p>Merchant, the former Asian and National champion, posted the 134 in the first frame against Pakistan’s Mohammed Asif who, despite a brave fight, could not stop the Indian from posting a 4-1 win in the concluding league match. Asif, with three wins, however, qualified for the knock-out rounds.<br /><br />The century break notwithstanding, Merchant, the 42-year old from Mumbai, had to bring into play his vast experience to overcome the 27-year old Asif who is playing in his first World championship. The Pakistani had his chances, but missed a few sitters that proved costly. In the first frame, after Asif broke the bunch, Merchant began with a long red and went on to compile a century that hinged on the last two reds that were near the side cushion. He sliced the 14th red into the top corner pocket and then cleared the table.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Advani raced to a 4-1 win against compatriot Sandeep Gulati to top his group with a clean record. In the women’s category, Vidya Pillai topped her group by winning all her five matches. Vidya outplayed Kathy Howden of Australia 3-0, while Chitra Magimairajan received a walk-over from Bahrain’s Nahla Sunni who went down with a stomach upset. In the Masters section, seven Indians, led by Sethi, qualified for the knock-out round. <br /><br />Results: Men: Group A: Philip Williams (Wal) bt Daniel Thorp (Aus) 68-27, 62-51, 61-24, 71-35; Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Sandeep Gulati (Ind) 98-0, 70-48, 66-15, 42-65, 77-41.<br />Group B: Habib Subah Habib (Brn) bt Shahbaz Khan (Ind) 17-52, 67-50, 84-39, 62-27, 55-29. Group C: Yasin Merchant (Ind) bt Muhammad Asif (Pak) 134-0, 23-58, 69-38, 64-16, 108-16. Group L: Alfie Burden (Eng) bt Rupesh Shah (Ind) 111-0, 62-32, 71-9, 78-01. Group M: Duncan Bezzina (Mlt) bt Dhruv Sitwala (Ind) 112-7, 87-12, 38-69, 103-0, 11-1.<br /><br />Group N: Anthony Brabin (Cyp) bt Jean-Pierre Auzias (Fra) 55-31, 68-17, 15-89, 81-9, 53-2. Group P: Aditya Mehta (Ind) bt Balaji Reddy (Ind) 85-59, 75-16, 80-14, 77-37.<br />Group Q: Kamal Chawla (Ind) bt Suleman Salam (Swe) 76-21, 57-46, 41-71, 00-68, 77-00, 118-2. Group R: Chris Maltby (NZ) bt Emir Yigit (Tur) 66-19, 27-61, 78-32, 65-2, 60-9; Lin Tang Ho (HK) bt MS Arun (Ind) 64-22, 65-53, 41-57, 108-5, 67-77, 68-14.<br />Women: Group A: Kathy Parashis (Aus) bt Suniti Damani (Ind) 42-45, 57-64, 54-42, 61-10, 59-25.<br /><br />Group B: Vidya Pillai (Ind) bt Kathy Howden (Aus) 50-45, 64-16, 63-33.<br />Group C: Meenal Thakur (Ind) bt Jeanne Young (SA) 62-23, 48-25, 62-21; Nicha Pathom Eakmongkhon (Tha) bt Neeta Sanghvi (Ind) 57-41, 86-25, 53-17.<br /><br />Masters: Group A: SA Saleem (Ind) bt Petri Kopponen 44-33, 13-64, 76-24, 72-15; Dene O’Kane (NZ) bt Cheung Leung Sing (HK) 59-45, 57-24, 104-0; BVS Murthy (Ind) bt Prasanna Maddumage (SL) 64-52, 49-38, 68-15. Group B: Clive Thomson (NZ) bt Mostafa Aly (Egy) 58-44, 64-28, 43-34; Simon Zammit (Mlt) bt Abdul Mohsen Khamis (Qat) 78-32, 76-15, 71-23; Geet Sethi (Ind) bt Ayyoub Alsharrah (Kuw) 15-71, 68-29, 43-41, 83-7). Group C: Syed Habib (Ind) bt Naoki Matsuzaki (Jpn) 55-02, 80-45, 70-38. Group D: Noppadon Noppachorn (Tha) bt Andrey Vill (Rus) 88-10, 67-13, 72-26. Group E: Momen Elansary (Egy) bt Prabhakaran (Ind) 78-35, 73-21, 61-10; Chuchart Trairattanapradit (Tha) bt K Ranjan (Ind) 62-30, 71-27, 75-41. Group H: Jyri Virtanen (Fin) bt Stevie Baillie (Sco) 48-56, 91-28, 57-46, 84-1; Munier Cassim (SA) bt Nadeem Ahmed (Ind) 73-15, 66-15, 22-51, 74-32.</p>
<p>Merchant, the former Asian and National champion, posted the 134 in the first frame against Pakistan’s Mohammed Asif who, despite a brave fight, could not stop the Indian from posting a 4-1 win in the concluding league match. Asif, with three wins, however, qualified for the knock-out rounds.<br /><br />The century break notwithstanding, Merchant, the 42-year old from Mumbai, had to bring into play his vast experience to overcome the 27-year old Asif who is playing in his first World championship. The Pakistani had his chances, but missed a few sitters that proved costly. In the first frame, after Asif broke the bunch, Merchant began with a long red and went on to compile a century that hinged on the last two reds that were near the side cushion. He sliced the 14th red into the top corner pocket and then cleared the table.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Advani raced to a 4-1 win against compatriot Sandeep Gulati to top his group with a clean record. In the women’s category, Vidya Pillai topped her group by winning all her five matches. Vidya outplayed Kathy Howden of Australia 3-0, while Chitra Magimairajan received a walk-over from Bahrain’s Nahla Sunni who went down with a stomach upset. In the Masters section, seven Indians, led by Sethi, qualified for the knock-out round. <br /><br />Results: Men: Group A: Philip Williams (Wal) bt Daniel Thorp (Aus) 68-27, 62-51, 61-24, 71-35; Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Sandeep Gulati (Ind) 98-0, 70-48, 66-15, 42-65, 77-41.<br />Group B: Habib Subah Habib (Brn) bt Shahbaz Khan (Ind) 17-52, 67-50, 84-39, 62-27, 55-29. Group C: Yasin Merchant (Ind) bt Muhammad Asif (Pak) 134-0, 23-58, 69-38, 64-16, 108-16. Group L: Alfie Burden (Eng) bt Rupesh Shah (Ind) 111-0, 62-32, 71-9, 78-01. Group M: Duncan Bezzina (Mlt) bt Dhruv Sitwala (Ind) 112-7, 87-12, 38-69, 103-0, 11-1.<br /><br />Group N: Anthony Brabin (Cyp) bt Jean-Pierre Auzias (Fra) 55-31, 68-17, 15-89, 81-9, 53-2. Group P: Aditya Mehta (Ind) bt Balaji Reddy (Ind) 85-59, 75-16, 80-14, 77-37.<br />Group Q: Kamal Chawla (Ind) bt Suleman Salam (Swe) 76-21, 57-46, 41-71, 00-68, 77-00, 118-2. Group R: Chris Maltby (NZ) bt Emir Yigit (Tur) 66-19, 27-61, 78-32, 65-2, 60-9; Lin Tang Ho (HK) bt MS Arun (Ind) 64-22, 65-53, 41-57, 108-5, 67-77, 68-14.<br />Women: Group A: Kathy Parashis (Aus) bt Suniti Damani (Ind) 42-45, 57-64, 54-42, 61-10, 59-25.<br /><br />Group B: Vidya Pillai (Ind) bt Kathy Howden (Aus) 50-45, 64-16, 63-33.<br />Group C: Meenal Thakur (Ind) bt Jeanne Young (SA) 62-23, 48-25, 62-21; Nicha Pathom Eakmongkhon (Tha) bt Neeta Sanghvi (Ind) 57-41, 86-25, 53-17.<br /><br />Masters: Group A: SA Saleem (Ind) bt Petri Kopponen 44-33, 13-64, 76-24, 72-15; Dene O’Kane (NZ) bt Cheung Leung Sing (HK) 59-45, 57-24, 104-0; BVS Murthy (Ind) bt Prasanna Maddumage (SL) 64-52, 49-38, 68-15. Group B: Clive Thomson (NZ) bt Mostafa Aly (Egy) 58-44, 64-28, 43-34; Simon Zammit (Mlt) bt Abdul Mohsen Khamis (Qat) 78-32, 76-15, 71-23; Geet Sethi (Ind) bt Ayyoub Alsharrah (Kuw) 15-71, 68-29, 43-41, 83-7). Group C: Syed Habib (Ind) bt Naoki Matsuzaki (Jpn) 55-02, 80-45, 70-38. Group D: Noppadon Noppachorn (Tha) bt Andrey Vill (Rus) 88-10, 67-13, 72-26. Group E: Momen Elansary (Egy) bt Prabhakaran (Ind) 78-35, 73-21, 61-10; Chuchart Trairattanapradit (Tha) bt K Ranjan (Ind) 62-30, 71-27, 75-41. Group H: Jyri Virtanen (Fin) bt Stevie Baillie (Sco) 48-56, 91-28, 57-46, 84-1; Munier Cassim (SA) bt Nadeem Ahmed (Ind) 73-15, 66-15, 22-51, 74-32.</p>