Delhi's Manan Chandra upstaged favourite Pankaj Advani of Karnataka to win the LIC-BSNL Senior National snooker title in Chennai on Wednesday evening.
In a final of fluctuating fortunes, the 24-year-old Chandra kept his cool and played his natural game, to post a 0-97, 77-37, 57-69, 82-30, 78-33, 64-45, 100-1, 36-88, 0-85, 70-22 victory.
Earlier in the day, in the best of nine-frame semi-finals, Advani beat Yasin Merchant 73-15, 68-19, 49-16, 87-2, 65-54, while Chandra go tthe better of Sarang Shroff of Maharashtra 75-13, 107-26, 92-9, 69-35, 67-69, 72-23.
Like Devendra Joshi, Chennai seems a happy hunting ground for Chandra, as he had regained his junior title at the venue five years ago and returned this year to win his maiden senior title.
The way Advani had decimated his opponents before reaching the final -- winning over big names like Geet Sethi, Alok Kumar and Yasin Merchant -- the well-mannered crowd expected total domination from the former IBSF World champion.
But Chandra dispelled all notions with some superb potting. The all-Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) final -- Pankaj representing ONGC and Chandra BPCL -- involving two fine talents in the green baize sport was a connoisseur's delight. It was a roller-coaster ride for both cueists. Advani called the shots initially, but Chandra came back and, at one stage, was all set to run away with the contest before the teenage sensation struck a purple patch.
However, the Delhi cueist, who came back from a 1-2 deficit and raced to a 5-2 lead, had the last laugh with a strong finish in the tenth frame to seal a 6-4 victory.
Later, talking to the media, a jubilant Chandra, who received a standing ovation from the entire cue sport fraternity, said he was confident of pulling it off.
''I played my natural game. I was hitting the ball well right through the tournament and that gave me the confidence.
''Winning four frames in a row, from 1-2 down, was the turning point and it brought my confidence back."
Advani said he played well only in patches and lauded the performance of his opponent, saying his was a consistent display right through the tournament.
''Down 2-5, I came back strongly. But I was a bit late to start off after taking a 2-1 lead,'' he added.
Going by performances leading up to the final, Advani started as the overwhelming favourite. But today's performance was, by any standards, certainly not up to the mark.
He started off with a break of 75 in the first frame and pocketed it 97-0. A 54 in the third gave him the frame and a 2-1 lead. But Chandra, who was equally adept at potting both the short and long shots, struck a purple patch, winning the next four frames to take a 5-2 lead.
Not to be outdone Advani came back well, reduced the leeway to 4-5 after recovering from a near-death situation when trailing 21-36 in the dicey eighth frame, where, after Chandra missed a red and amid mounting tension, he grabbed the opportunity and cleared the table with an unfinished break of 67.
He then went on to win the ninth also.
But in the tenth, Advani missed some easy shots, and at 45-22 Chandra came up with a break of 24 to take the frame and match at 70-22.
Result (Final): Manan Chandra (Delhi) bt Pankaj Advani (Karnataka) 0-97, 77-37, 57-69, 82-30, 78-33, 64-45, 100-1, 36-88, 0-85, 70-22.
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