Advani ends first camp at pole position

Reigning National champion Advani, despite defeats to Yasin Merchant and Aditya Mehta, finished on top while former Asian champion Merchant was ranked second at the Karnataka State Billiards Association Hall.

Sourav Kothari was made to sweat by Alok Kumar but the Kolkata pro held his nerve in the decider to eke out a 4-3 win and finish third.

Merchant, who avenged his 2009 Agra National loss to Advani with a 4-2 win on Friday, was unable to carry the momentum, losing to Mehta 1-4.

National 6-red runner-up Brijesh Damani fought hard in his 4-3 win over Shahbaaz Adil Khan while Manan Chandra scored a workmanlike 4-2 victory over Kamal Chawla.
The billiards selection camp commences on Sunday with veteran Geet Sethi expected to join after he left the snooker camp midway owing to a medical emergency in the family.
The second camp is expected to be held in Goa during April-May.

Results: Sourav Kothari bt Alok Kumar 4-3 (73-9, 42-68, 10-79, 66-18, 60-1, 5-105, 68-38); Brijesh Damani bt Shahbaaz Adil Khan 4-3 (59-54, 61-58, 1-76, 106-23, 35-59, 18-59, 97-49); Aditya Mehta bt Yasin Merchant 4-1 (52-58, 78-39, 98-22, 116-0, 73-40); Manan Chandra bt Kamal Chawla 4-2 (89-25, 65-31, 75-17, 15-76, 0-106, 89-11).

Ranking: Pankaj Advani 1, Yasin Merchant 2, Sourav Kothari 3, Kamal Chawla 4, Aditya Mehta 5, Manan Chandra 6, Alok Kumar 7.