Advani wins, Sethi falters on day 1 of World Billiards
By IANSFriday, August 20, 2010
PUNE - Defending champion Pankaj Advani won both his matches while Geet Sethi suffered a double defeat on the opening day of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Billiards Championship here Friday.
Advani started the day with a win over Billi Bousefield of England 150-70, 151-61, 37-150, 151-10 in four frames and then went on to blank South Korean Chul Ho Hwang 151-31, 150-125, 150-60 to virtually book a place in the pre-quarterfinals of the point-format of the World Championships.
The biggest disappointment of the day was former eight time world champion Geet Sethi, who lost both his matches.
Sethi’s first match was against Englishman Mike Russel who, according to the Indian, is the best modern-day player.
Russell lived up to his reputation and beat Sethi in three straight frames 150-49, 151-9, 150-58 in less than 90 minutes. The loss proved shocking for the 49-year-old as he slumped to another defeat at the hands Nay Thway of Myanmar 152-114, 150-15, 150-0 later in the day.
Sethi will now have to win his remaining three matches to move ahead in the tournament.
The other Indians in the fray, Dhruv Sitwala, Rupesh Shah, Ashok Shandilya and Alok Kumar also won their opening matches.
