Indian ace Pankaj Advani enters World Snooker quarters

Bengaluru: Maintaining his winning streak, Indian ace Pankaj Advani stormed into the quarterfinals of the Seaways IBSF World Snooker Championship at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Benaluru on Thursday. Advani decimated England’s Ryan Causton 5-0. One of the tournament favourites, the Bengaluru cueist finished the match in an hour and 35 minutes. [caption id=“attachment_1825601” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  12-time world champion Pankaj Advani. PTI[/caption] The 12-time world champion began with a break of 55 and went on to win the first frame 99-9. The snooker enthusiasts, who had gathered at the stadium, witnessed a good second frame with both players potting well. However, Advani prevailed over the English player with a 62-61 win. Thereafter, Advani was on the track, which he normally does in such situations. He won the next three frames quite comfortably 75-44, 68-21 and 73-2. Advani will now meet teen sensation Yan Bingtao of China, who outplayed India’s Varun Madan 5-1, in the last-8 clash. Sree, brother of Pankaj and a sports physchologist told PTI that he was satisfied with the star’s performance, but just needs to adjust to the varying conditions at the stadium. “He has been coming in terms with the different conditions out here which is quite different from the conditions he played in England to win his 12th world title,” Sree said. Earlier in the day, Advani outplayed compatriot Laxman Rawat 5-2 in the pre-quarters. He began with a huge break of 126 and Rawat found him tough to match. Though he picked up two frames, the ace cueist was always in control. Yan, who will face Pankaj in the quarterfinal, beat India’s Varun Madan 5-1. In the other matches, BVS Murthy of India prevailed over England’s Graham Beardmore 4-3 to enter the quarters. After marathon battle, Alok Kumar lost 4-2 to Chuchort Trainattanapradit of Thailand, who also made it to the last-8. In the women’s draw, Wendy Jans finally found her inner strength to overcome a promising talent Amee Kamani 3-0 to enter the next stage. Siraphat Chitchomart of Thailand beat World under-21 Australian champion Jessica Woods 4-1. PTI