Chitra Magimairaj ends nine-year drought with national 9-ball title

Chitra Magimairaj ended her nine-year title drought by winning the women’s 9-ball pool Nationals in Ludhiana. She defeated Ishika Shah 7-4 in the final, showcasing experience and composure to secure her fourth national pool title

Hyderabad: Karnataka’s Chitra Magimairaj ended a nine-year title drought with a dominant display in the final of the women’s 9-ball pool Nationals at the Rotary Bhawan in Ludhiana on Thursday.

The seasoned Chitra overcame a mid-match slump before scoring a facile 7-4 win over Madhya Pradesh’s Ishika Shah for her third 9-ball title and fourth pool National crown overall.

---

“It feels great to win a national title again,” said an elated Chitra, who last won in 2017. “Winning the nationals gives me the added motivation to do well at international events.”

One of the few cueists who plays pool professionally, Chitra got off the blocks in a jiffy, jumping to a 3-0 lead in the race-to-7 affair. Instead of tightening the noose, she gave her rival a look-in by committing a few errors with her attacking style of play.

Ishika took the generous offerings with glee to force her way into the match, winning four straight racks. But before much damage could be done, Chitra found her rhythm and range in the eighth rack. She made capital of Ishika’s poor safety on four to draw level.

Ishika overlooked a combination shot to close out the rack in the ninth. The Bengalurean capitalised on her rival’s poor safety play to go up 5-4. The MP girl’s attempted combination shot early in the 10th rack backfired. She even missed a regulation pot (No. 9) to the top left-hand pocket to restore parity. Chitra sank the nine to the bottom left but was lucky not to go in-off (scratch).

Having lost the rack from a winning position, Ishika missed a few regulation pots under pressure in the next rack. Chitra did not prolong her rival’s agony, closing out the rack and match in double quick time.