Pankaj Advani will take on Mike Russell in the semifinal today; Peter Gilchrist to meet Geet Sethi in the other last four encounter
Defending champion Pankaj Advani has set up a semifinal clash with Mike Russell, while Geet Sethi has given himself a last four date with Peter Gilchrist in the World Billiards Championship (time format).
In the quarterfinals here on Thursday, Advani held his nerves to overcome Rupesh Shah 1279-684 while in-form Russell sent Myanmar’s Kuam Oo packing with a scoreline of 1127-850. In the other quarterfinals of the day, Sethi humbled Ashok Shandilya 1658-455 while Gilchrist beat Dhurv Sitwala (851-831) by the skin of his teeth.
“It was close but I brushed aside the pressure and played my natural game,” said Advani. “It’s a great feeling to have notched up my highest break in the World Championship. It came when I needed it the most,” said Advani, who recorded a 709 unfinished break. “I did not look at the score when Rupesh missed a simple cannon. I took to the table and wanted to come with my best and that helped me make the semifinals,” said Advani.
He also applauded his rival. “Rupesh played well and it was anybody’s game. It all depended on who would stay more at the table.”
On the adjacent table, Sitwala looked composed and well in control against Gilchrist, but the Singaporean sneaked past the Indian by just 20 points with an unfinished 89 points break in the last few minutes of the game. “All was not well for me. I missed simple cannons and even my potting was not up to the mark,” remarked Gilchrist.
It was a postman’s knock strategy which helped Sethi canter past Shandilya on Table One. Knocking the ball with gentle touch and playing from close to the base, Sethi scored a handsome 1,203 points victory.
The semifinals will be played over four hours in two sessions. The semifinals and final will be shown live on DD sports.
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