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26th October, 2012, Leeds: India's
most celebrated cueist and 7-time world champion Pankaj Advani had a
mixed day on day 9 of the World Billiards Championship in Leeds. As a
quarterfinalist in both the Time and Points format, Pankaj faced tough
competition from Peter Gilchrist, to lose the match 1-4 in the Points
format, but proceeded to display great class in the quarterfinals of the
Timed format to beat fellow Indian Rupesh Shah 1647-705.
Securing
a quarterfinal spot against Peter Gilchrist in the Points format,
Pankaj had earlier beaten Robin Wilson 4-1 in a best of 7 frames
encounter on day 8 of the championships. Commenting on his quarterfinal
game against an old rival and seasoned cueist, the young Indian
acknowledged that the Singapore representative at the table had kept the
pressure on him throughout the game and had played some great
Billiards.
Moving
on to play in the quarterfinals of the Time Format, against Rupesh
Shah, Pankaj continued his winning streak from the previous day with a
strong start, with 2 double century breaks and 4 century breaks before
he proceeded to pocket the game with a 940 point margin in
180 minutes cementing his authority in the sport and will now face
Dhruv Sitwala in the penultimate round of the championships.
"I
am very happy to be playing fellow Indian and a great friend in the
semis. With two Indians at the table, we are guaranteed a spot for the
country in the finals of the Timed format and it also gives us a great
chance of bringing the title home", said one of the last two Indians
standing as day 10 of the championships commences.
Shuffling
between Sheffield and India, Pankaj is the only active cueist to play
both Billiards and Snooker at the highest level and had chosen to
participate in the World Billiards Championship over the International
Snooker Championships, after a clash in dates made him pick one.
- END-
About Pankaj Advani:
When most athletes only begin to peak, Pankaj Advani has already won
most of the championships his game has to offer, many times over. The
7-time World Champion in Billiards and Snooker won his first world title
when he was just 18 and is the only Asian to have ever won both the
Billiards and Snooker world championships.
One
of the youngest Indians to be honoured with the prestigious Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna award, Pankaj has also been conferred the Padma Shri
and Arjuna awards.
Widely admired for his calm and intense focus while competing, he is known for being an ardent vegetarian and teetotaler
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