Indore: Defending champion Pankaj Advani and
Singapore's Peter Gilchrist will vie for top honours in the
seven-nation Asian Billiards championship to be played here
from tomorrow till April 15.
Veteran Geet Sethi, Devendra Joshi, Ashok Shandilya,
Dhruv Sitwala and Rupesh Shah will form part of the Indian
contingent in the nine-day long event, which was originally
scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan.
But, keeping in mind the volatile security situation in
that country, the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports
(ACBS), sport's Asian governing body, decided to shift the
event to India.
"In this event, players from countries like India,
Myanmar, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Singapore
will participate in the Biliards category," Madhya Pradesh
Billiards and Snooker Association President Bholu Mehta told
reporters here.
Advani will take on compatriot Rupesh Shah in his first
Group 'A' encounter of the tournament. He had won the Asian
Billiards Championship for the first time in 2008 in Myanmar
and last year in Pune, defeating Singapore's Gilchrist 5-3
frames.
Mehta said along with Billiards event, Under-21 snooker
championship will also be held simultaneously, in which
Shahbaz Khan, Mundir Sherazi, Vipin Premi, Manjot Singh and
Varun Madan will spearhead the Indian challenge.
"Both the event will carry a total prize money of USD
5,000," he added.
In Under-21 Snooker, 36 players from 13 countries will
participate.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 06, 2010, 17:35