Bringing to the fore his skills and experience, national champion Ashok Shandilya carved out a thrilling 5-4 win over a fighting Pankaj Advani to annex the second Asian Billiards Championship crown in Bangalore on Sunday.
He defeated Advani, the junior national champion, 0-102, 28-100, 100-0, 101-6, 2-100, 100-0, 102-0, 29-102 and 100-10 in the final in about two hours.
Shandilya showered praise on 16-year-old Pankaj after the deciding frame, saying "there is no doubt that he will be the future world champion, if he maintains the same skill and cool"
"He made me sweat," Shandilya said in praise of the young talent and the wild card entrant, who was the cynosure of all eyes in this championship.
By this victory, Shandilya not only added another glittering trophy to his cap, but also ensured that India retained the Asian Billiards trophy, which the former world champion, Geet Sethi had won 16 years ago.
Advani said, "Ashok is known for his style of bouncing back into the game. That's what he did today also. He played well in the last frame".
Bureau Report