Dominant Shrikrishna completes clean sweep

Heartbreak for Keerthana in girls' snooker final

Clinical and thorough are two adjectives that best describe S Shrikrishna's performance at the Junior and Sub-junior snooker and billiards championships that concluded here on Sunday.

If there was a title to be won, the 17-year-old ensured he pocketed it, winning all four titles -- Junior and Sub-junior boys' snooker and billiards -- at the Karnataka State Billiards Association.

The clean sweep was completed when Shrikrishna romped to a 4-0 (73-16, 74-42, 76 (51)-28, 76 (64)-17) victory over another talented younster, Sparsh Pherwani of Maharashtra, in the summit clash of the Junior boys' snooker.

It definitely would have been a great relief for the teenager as it was the same event that he missed out on at the previous edition of the championships in Pune.

"I am really happy that I could win all four titles," said Shrikrishna insisting that his aim, coming into the event, wasn't purely to win four titles.

"I never came in to this tournament with a specific aim of winning everything. All I do is ensure that I better my previous show and keep improving. Specifically in this event, I'm happy with my striking and it got better with each match," he divulged.

While it was a euphoric moment for Shrikrishna, Karnataka's Keerthana P fell marginally short of claiming her fourth title at the championships.

Up against Ishika Sharma of Madhya Pradesh in the Junior girls' snooker final, nerves got the better of the 15-year-old cueist from KGF as she settled for second place after a 2-1 (43-10, 01-70, 68-33) defeat.

Ishika was on the front foot from the start taking an early lead with a 43-10 win in the first frame. But it was all Keerthana in the second as she stormed back into contention with a 70-1 hammering to push the tie into the decider.

It was Ishika who eventually stayed the calmer of the two and wore the crown after winning the final frame 68-33.

Admitting that she was delighted despite missing out, Keerthana said: "I'm very happy. Maybe I could have won the fourth as well but I was a little too desperate and made a couple of mistakes that cost me."

Results: Junior Boys Snooker: Final (best of seven): S Shrikrishna (TN) bt Sparsh Pherwani (MAH) 4-0 (73-16, 74-42, 76 (51)-28, 76 (64)-17).3rd and 4th placing: Mehul Saini (HAR) bt Loukic Pathare (MAH) 3-1 (69-33, 86-34, 53-64, 64-29)

Semifinals: Sparsh Pherwani (MAH) bt Loukic Pathare (MAH) 4-3 (48-53, 50-76, 56-22, 26-66, 54-47, 67-35, 71-29); S Shrikrishna (TN) bt Mehul Saini (HAR) 4-0 (57-48, 61-52, 81-30, 61-31).

5th to 8th placing: Kreishh Gurbaxani (MAH) bt Shoaib Khan (DEL) 2-0 (60-36, 63-38); Karmesh Patel (GUJ) bt Devang Singh (MP) 2-1 (15-71, 62-22, 67-29); Kreishh Gurbaxani (MAH) bt Devang Singh (MP) 2-0 (56-44, 76-07); Shoaib Khan (DEL) bt Karmesh Patel (GUJ) 2-1 (84-42, 23-46, 72-06).

Final standings: S Shrikrishna (TN), 1; Sparsh Pherwani (MAH), 2; Mehul Saini (HAR), 3; Loukic Pathare (MAH), 4; Kreishh Gurbaxani (MAH), 5; Shoaib Khan (DEL), 6; Karmesh Patel (GUJ), 7; Devang Singh (MP), 8.

Junior Girls Snooker: Finals: Ishika Shah (MP) bt Keerthana P (KAR) 2-1 (43-10, 01-70, 68-33). 3rd and 4th placing: Anupama Ramachandran (TN) bt I Lahari (TLG) 2-1 (44-30, 24-49, 40-27)

Final standings: Ishika Shah, 1; Keerthana P, 2; Anupama Ramachandran, 3; I Lahari, 4; Kanishka Jhurani, 5; Doyel Dey (WB), 6; Mariam Agnish (TN), 7; M Janani (TN), 8.