India’s Rayaan Razmi opens World Snooker campaign with 134 break

Rayaan Razmi opened his IBSF World Snooker Championships campaign with a 134 break and a 4-0 win over Nepal's Wangchyu Tamang. The Mumbai cueist advanced to the third round, where he will face compatriot Kreishh Gurbaxani

Hyderabad: India’s promising cueist Rayaan Razmi made a sensational start to his campaign at the IBSF World Snooker Championships, producing a brilliant century break en route to the third round at the Yeshwant Club in Indore on Friday.

The 24-year-old Mumbaikar, who won gold in billiards at the Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships last month, registered a comprehensive 4-0 win over Nepal’s Wangchyu Tamang in the second round of the first stage.

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The victory set up an all-Indian third-round clash against compatriot Kreishh Gurbaxani. The winner of the match will advance to the second stage, while the loser will get two more chances to qualify for the final stage.

After brushing aside the UAE’s Abdulla Fahed Alnaimi 4-0 in his opening match, Razmi took some time to settle down against Tamang. Having pocketed the first two frames comfortably, the Indian potted a long red into the bottom-left pocket and compiled a brilliant break of 134 in the third frame.

Razmi, who had been producing consistent century breaks in practice ahead of the tournament, made a half-century break in the next frame to seal the match.

At the adjacent table, Gurbaxani produced a measured performance to outplay Nepal’s Sabin Tamang 4-0. For the Indian cueist, who spent two years on the professional snooker tour in England, the match was an opportunity to get accustomed to the tables and playing conditions. In his opening match, Gurbaxani had defeated Iraq’s Ahmed Mustafa 4-0.

In another third-round encounter, Anuraag Giri will take on fellow Indian Piyush Kushwaha. Barring Paras Gupta, who lost 2-4 to Langyi Ryan Li in the first round, the other Indians enjoyed comfortable wins.

Select results (Stage 1, Indians unless mentioned):

Round 2: Rayaan Razmi bt Wangchyu Tamang (Nep) 4-0 (70-21, 74-5, 134 (134)-0, 80 (52)-18); Kreishh Gurbaxani bt Sabin Tamang (Nep) 4-0 (65-26, 80-1, 64-6, 61 (61)-53); Anuraag Giri bt Uzair Khan 4-3 (64-37, 26-69, 39-59, 50-77, 74-15, 63-26, 69-10); Piyush Kushwaha bt Jakub Chromy (Pol) 4-0 (65-43, 59-49, 72-45, 77-0); Aarav Sancheti bt Dong Zihao (Chn) 4-0.