Pankaj Advani clinches ninth senior national snooker title after one-sided victory over Laxman Rawat

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani on Sunday claimed yet another Senior National Snooker title with a thumping win over young Laxman Rawat in a one-sided final. Advani annexed the national title, this time in snooker, taking his total tally of Indian championships to a whopping 32 golds. [caption id=“attachment_2997522” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Pankaj Advani. Reuters[/caption] After winning 11 Indian titles as a junior, Advani, as a senior, has won nine billiards, three six-red snooker and now nine snooker gold medals. From a statistical point of view, Advani now has 21 world titles and 21 national titles as a men’s player, in both snooker and billiards. Advani took his younger opponent Rawat to the cleaners with a 6-0 win in the final. The match was mostly defined by the champion’s experience as he brought on a lethal combination of scoring and safety of the highest quality. The only really close frame was the fourth which could have ended with the scoreline reading 3-1, giving young Rawat an outside chance of a comeback. But once Advani clinched that too with a fine clearance, it was early curtains for Rawat. In the women’s final, Varshaa Sanjeev gave Bengaluru another reason to rejoice as she joined Advani in winning the snooker national title by defeating Arantxa Sanchis of Maharashtra 4-2. Sanjeev accounted for the top women cueists in this tournament as she knocked out Amee Kamani in the quarter-finals and Vidya Pillai in the semis.