Chennai: Last year finalist Devendra Joshi of PSPB will take on Rupesh Shah of Gujarat, while Mohammad Asim of Railways will face Dhrun Sitwala of PSPB in the semi-finals of the 72nd LIC-BSNL National Billiards and Snooker Championships here on Friday.

In the three-hour format quarter final matches, Joshi overwhelmed former Asian champion Ashok Chandilya of Railways 1,378-770, while Shah defeated PSPB’s Sourav Kothari 983-361. Kothari conceded the match 15 minutes before the closure.

In the top half, Sitwala was consistent in his 951-529 victory over B. Bhaskar of Karnataka while Asim defeated teammate Venkatesham 1,065-679.

Earlier, reigning world IBSF champion Pankaj Advani, former world champion Geet Sethi and former Asian champion Alok Kumar crashed out losing to lesser known rivals in the pre-quarter finals. (PTI)