Dhvaj Haria’s straight frames victory over Jaiveer Dhingra of Maharashtra on Tuesday was very special for the Ahmedabad boy.
After the sensational win, the 18-year-old is on cloud nine. Why not? The feat has put him close to legendary cueists Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani, who have won three national titles in a single competition.
Geet Sethi won the junior billiards and snooker titles along with the senior billiards title in 1981, while Pankaj Advani emulated this feat in 2005.
The 12th class DPS, Bopal student asserted his supremacy at the Manisha Constructions National Snooker and Billiards Championships with his third title on Tuesday. The teen sensation, who has made the PYC Hindu Gymkhana tables his happy hunting ground, annexed the sub-junior snooker crown in addition to the sub-junior billiards and junior billiards titles. Dhvaj beat Jaiveer 60 (41)-12, 60-52, 69-44. Dhvaj won all his 3 matches in the Junior Billiards with an average of +448 to win the third title.
“The feeling is yet to sink in. I am feeling on top of the world today. It was a great experience,” exclaimed Dhvaj after winning the title. Ketan Chawla of MP finished second, while Malkeet Singh of UP took third spot. He has also been awarded the Indian Oil Scholarship and he has set a record by representing his state in 6 events at this tournament.
Dhvaj has been coached by former national billiards champion and Dronacharya award winner Subhash Agarwal, and by England’s Nick Barrow in snooker.With Dhvaj being equated with the game’s extraordinary gentlemen, has the pressured increased on him? “A few referees came up to me and asked me to focus on the World junior championships and U-21 Asian Championship. It was a very nice feeling. It has definitely raised the expectation level. Pressure is there and I will have to handle it,” said Dhvaj.
When asked about balancing his game and studies, pat came the reply. "I had to avoid movies and other leisure things. Three to four hours of practice and studies are the only part of my routine that I have been following for the past ten months or so," he said.
Results:Sub-junior snooker (final): Dhvaj Haria (Guj) bt Jaiveer Dhingra (Mah) 60(41)-12, 60-52, 69-44; (3rd place match): Ishpreet Chadha (Mah) beat Sahil Nair (Pun) 2-1 (22-63, 73-34, 62-47). Junior billiards (semi-final round robin): Dhvaj Haria (Guj) bt Malkeet Singh (UP) 794(56, 64, 83, 61)-453; Malkeet Singh (UP) bt Ketan Chawla (MP) 635(50, 44)-534(69, 38); Haria bt Himanshu Jain (AP) 660(61, 47)-611(43, 47).
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