Pankaj Advani and Brijesh Damani secured victories in the World Cup of Snooker, advancing to the knockout stages of the tournament. Advani dominated his group, while Damani rebounded from a recent IBSF World Snooker miss to claim wins in his matches.
The World Cup of Snooker, a prestigious event in the cue sports calendar, draws top players from around the globe. Advani’s and Damani’s progression represents India’s strong showing in the competition and sets the stage for potential medal contention as the tournament progresses toward elimination rounds.
Advani achieved his second win in Group ‘M’ with a decisive victory,punctuated by breaks of 74 and 56. He previously defeated Oman’s Hussain Allawati 3-0 in his opening match.
Damani, after being eliminated in the knockouts of the IBSF World Snooker in Doha last week, rebounded with a 3-1 win over American Hasanain Alsultani in his second match in Group ‘J’. He had earlier defeated Ihab Al-Salih 3-0 in his first match.
Other Indian players experienced mixed results. aditya mehta secured one win in Group ‘R’, while Hussain Khan registered one win and one loss in Group ‘K’. Dhvaj Haria, the Indian 6-red snooker champion, was eliminated from the individual event after two close losses in Group ‘H’.
Results:
* Group H: Michal Szubarczyk (Pol) bt Dhvaj Haria 3-2 (59-33, 51-72, 22-54, 70-14, 66 (61)-17); Chi Kin Yeung (Chn) bt Dhvaj Haria 3-2 (54-43, 49-64, 6-81, 60-45, 56-26).
* Group J: Brijesh damani bt Hasanain Alsultani (US) 3-1 (76 (62)-28, 62-14, 54-55, 93-4); Brijesh Damani bt Ihab Al-Salih (Irq) 3-0 (85 (74)-1, 73-64, 72-29).
* Group K: Hussain Khan bt Ahmed Nizam Uddin (Ban) 3-1 (120 (64)-7, 62-26, 56-65, 56-20); Firas Kamil Shaba (Irq) bt Hussain Khan 3-2 (63-29, 78 (56)-29, 28-91, 27-67 (50), 69-40).
* Group M: Pankaj Advani bt Hesham Alsaqer (Bah) 3-0 (93 (74)-32,96 (56)-4,75-52); Pankaj Advani bt Husain Allawati (Oman) 3-0 (67-2,78 (78)-1,64-37).
* Group R: Aditya Mehta bt Qasim Albalushi (Oman) 3-0 (84-12, 62-54, 73-6).
