India storms into Asian snooker semifinal

India entered the Asian Snooker Team Championship semifinals with a 3-0 win over Qatar, led by strong performances from Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta in Colombo on Friday

Hyderabad: Former champions India powered into the semifinals with a lopsided 3-0 win over the dangerous Qatar in the Asian Snooker Team Championship in Colombo on Friday.

Multiple-time world champion Pankaj Advani set the tone by clinching the opening singles without breaking a sweat. The 39-year-old, who has been in imperious form right through the tournament, outplayed former world champion Ali Al Obaidli 62-24.

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Aditya Mehta, the former World Games gold medallist who fired in fits and starts in the league phase, came into his own in the knockout quarters, rifling in a flowing 86 in the second singles en route to a 115-5 win over Bashar Abdul Majeed to give India a 2-0 lead.

In the doubles, Advani and Brijesh Damani joined forces to complete the rout. The duo defeated the Al Obaidli and Majeed pair 72-5. India will next take on the winner of the match between Hong Kong-1 and Bahrain.

Earlier in the morning, India advanced to the knockouts with an all-win record from their group. The Indian trio outplayed Hong Kong-2 in their final Group ‘C’ match 3-0 to take their appointed place in the last-eight stage.

Advani, who made a brilliant century in the second match against Oman in a late-night encounter, outplayed Yu Kiu Chang 64-16 to put India ahead 1-0.

Aditya, despite being a little off-colour, scored a comfortable 66-39 win over Tsz Ho Lee. Advani and Damani then combined well to seal the victory 56-19 against Yu Kiu Chang and Yun Fung Tam in the doubles.

On Thursday night, India carried far too many guns for Oman, winning 3-0. The highlight of the match was a sizzling break of 116 by Pankaj Advani in the opening singles against Abdullah Al Raisi.

Results – Quarterfinals: India bt Qatar 3-0
(Pankaj Advani bt Ali Al Obaidli 62-24;
Aditya Mehta bt Bashar Abdul Majeed 115 (86)-5;
Advani/Brijesh Damani bt Al Obaidli/Majeed 72 (51)-5).