Taupo: Top seed Pankaj Advani kept Indian hopes alive in the world under-21 snooker championship here on Friday, advancing to the pre-quarter finals with a 5-2 win over Michael Lupton of Australia.

However, his compatriot Aditya Mehta, went down 2-5 to another Australian, James Delahunty.

Advani was all fluency against Lupton. Leading 3-0, Advani lost the next two frames before tightening his grip on the match for a 68-10, 73-24, 72-40, 55-66, 24-66, 61-10, 54-40 win.

Mehta lost to Delahunty 73-23, 78-64, 72-32, 27-70, 73-0, 25-87, 59-48.