Former Bengal junior doubles champion Aamer Hussain at the East Zone Invitational Snooker Championship 2011 in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 6: Fans of cue sports in the capital have the chance to watch some of the best billiard players in the country show their skills over the next few days.

The east zone invitational snooker tournament, which began yesterday, is also expected to give a boost to players from the state. With top national and state level champions featuring in this inter-state tournament, the event has captivated the attention of sports lovers.

The tournament, being held at the Billiards and Snooker Academy (BSA) in Patia, is the first national level championship in cue sports to be organised in the state.

Brijesh Damani from Bengal has been rated the top seed for the invitational tournament. With his performance in last year’s Asian Snooker Championship, Damani had helped India bag a silver medal. He represents the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) team.

His PSPB teammate, Sourav Kothari, a six-time state champion from Bengal and also a former India No. 2, shares the second seed position with fellow state player and former senior national snooker champion Shyam Jagtiani.

Shabaaz Adil Khan, also from PSPB, has been rated as the third seed. Ali is a three-time national junior champion. Manish Jain, Aamer Hussain, Shivam Arora and Neeraj Kumar are the other seeded players in the tournament.

Current state senior champion Subrat Das as well as junior champion Nishant Biswal and sub-junior champion Ashutosh Padhy are also participating in the tournament.

“The tournament follows a knockout pattern,” said cueist and organiser Jitendra Sarangi, who won his match against Sibasish Biswal on the opening day. “All major players from the eastern zone, that includes Orissa, Bengal, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, are participating in the tournament. There are 15 players from outside Orissa,” Sarangi said, adding that the tournament carries cash prizes worth Rs 1.5lakh.

“The five-round knockout tournament aims to provide exposure to state level players and also help them face top players confidently,” said Sarangi. Among the other matches held on the opening day, Amit Lat, Arpit Mohanty and Amiya Nayak won their respective games. While Godwin Jeffrey got a walkover against Tapu, sub-junior state champion Padhy emerged victorious against Nischay Mishra.

“I’m elated to be participating in this tournament that includes top players from different states. I have practiced very hard and will try to carry on the energy of the winning start,” said Padhy.

The tournament is on till June 12 when former World Champion Geet Sethi will felicitate the winners and other participants.