Pankaj Advani clinched his 25th world title after prevailing over compatriot Sourav Kothari 4-0 in the 150-up billiards final at the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Advani, the world’s leading cueist, manoeuvred his cue like a magician’s wand, entertaining the spectators who showed up in large numbers.
Advani had things under control from the very first frame itself. He opened the proceedings without any delay to secure the opening frame with a 149 break, while the city-based Kothari, who had to battle close to 10 hours to win his quarter final and semi-final games on Friday, was yet to score a point in the 150- up format.
The best-of-seven summit clash saw Advani at his best to ensure he completed a billiards National-AsianWorld golden trifecta in the same calendar year for a record fifth time.
Calcutta’s Sourav Kothari, in a Twitter picture, after winning the silver medal at the World Billiards Championship on Saturday. The Telegraph
“It’s a dream to defend a world title five times in a row,” an elated Advani was quoted as saying in a release. “I’m truly pleased with how I’ve played and won every billiards event I participated in this year.
“I do feel honoured to bring to my country yet another gold medal at a world level.”
The second frame, too, went Advani’s way after Kothari couldn’t quite capitalise on a few lapses from the world champion. With the help of a 77 break, Advani was halfway home with a 2-0 lead.
From thereon, he took a firmer grip on the contest, making sure there was no scope whatsoever for a comeback for Kothari. Advani’s craftsmanship saw him make the tournament’s highest break of 153 in the third frame.
In the fourth, he put together exquisite breaks of 86 and 60 unfinished to seal the deal.
Advani’s last world title came over 12 months ago in Qatar, where he had won the IBSF 6-Red Snooker World Cup.
Undone by exhaustion
For silver-medallist Kothari, it certainly was a forgettable final where he could manage only 72 points while Advani amassed 600-plus to defend his title for the fifth year in a row. But the exhaustion he had to endure on the eve of the decider, during the quarter final against Dhruv Sitwala and the semi-final versus S. Shrikrishna, had made his task stiffer against the world champion.
“I’m not giving any excuses at all. But after playing close to 10 hours the day before the final and going off to sleep around 4am, that did take a toll on me,” Kothari told The Telegraph from Kuala Lumpur after the final.
“Physically and mentally, I was drained out after the quarter final lasted more than six-and-a-half hours while the semi-final too went on for about three hours or so (on Friday).
“I had to play till 11 in the night. And then I was up against a player of Pankaj’s quality just a few hours later. I was so exhausted that I just couldn’t put together my game in the final,” Kothari said.
Kothari could next participate in a world meet in Singapore next month.
