Chawla in last sixteen

 
Chawla was at his best against a fighting local challenger Dilip Kumar to weave an elegant 4-1 win to join the title favourite world champion Panjak Advani, who also progressed to the next grade.

Others to make the last 16 were Devendra Joshi, Rupesh Shah, Rafat Habib, Manan Chandra, Alok Kumar and Sourav Kothari.

“There was no possibility of a 147 break as I began with the lower colours before moving up the table. When I was on 70, I got stuck in the bunch, but recovered with a centre-pocket red to carry on with the break. I am quite pleased with the way I played,” said Chawla.

Results: Group A: Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Siddharth Rao (TN) 4-1. Group B: Sourav Kothari (PSPB) bt Vijai Nichani (TN) 4-0. Group C: Kamal Chawla (Railways) bt Dilip Kumar (TN) 4-1. Group D: Alok Kumar (PSPB) bt Prem Prakash (TN) 4-2. Group E: SA Saleem (TN) bt Manan Chandra (PSPB) 4-2. Group F: Aditya Mehta (PSPB) bt Rafath Habib (TN) 4-1. Group G: Devendra Joshi (PSPB) bt Girish Rajasekhar (Railways) 4-1.