Asian Snooker Team Championship: India Outplay Qatar To Storm Into Semifinals

Former champions India powered into the semifinals with a lopsided 3-0 win over the dangerous Qatar in the Asian Snooker Team Championship here on Friday.

Multiple-time World champion Pankaj Advani set the tone by clinching the opening singles without breaking a sweat. The 39-year-old, who has been in imperious form right through the tournament, outplayed former World champion Ali Al Obaidli 62-24.

Aditya Mehta, the former World Games gold medallist who fired in fits and starts in the league phase, came into his own in the knockout quarters, rifling in a flowing 86 in the second singles en route to a 115-5 win over Bashar Abdul Majeed to give India a 2-0 lead.

In the doubles, Advani and Brijesh Damani joined forces to complete the rout. The duo defeated Al Obaidli and Majeed pair 72-5. India will next take on the winner of the match between Hong Kong-1 and Bahrain.

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Earlier in the morning, India advanced to knockouts with an all-win record from their group. The Indian trio outplayed Hong Kong-2 in their final Group ‘C’ match 3-0 to take their appointed place in the last-eight stage.

Advani, who made a brilliant century in the second match against Oman in a late-night encounter, outplayed Yu Kiu Chang 64-16 to put India ahead 1-0.

Aditya, despite being a little off-colour, scored a comfortable 66-39 win over Tsz Ho Lee. Advani and Damani then combined well to seal the victory 56-19 against Yu Kiu Chang and Yun Fung Tam in the doubles.

On Thursday night, India carried far too many guns for Oman, winning 3-0. The highlight of the match was a sizzling break of 116 by Pankaj Advani in the opening singles against Abdullah Al Raisi.

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Results: Quarterfinals: India bt Qatar 3-0 (Pankaj Advani bt Ali Al Obaidli 62-24; Aditya Mehta bt Bashar Abdul Majeed 115 (86) -5; Advani/ Brijesh Damani bt Al Obaidli/ Majeed 72 (51) -5).

League: Group C: India bt Hong Kong-2 3-0 (Pankaj Advani bt Yu Kiu Chang 64-16; Aditya Mehta bt Tsz Ho Lee 66-39; Advani/ Brijesh Damani bt Yu Kiu/ Yun Fung Tam 56-19).

India bt Oman 3-0 (Pankaj Advani bt Abdullah Al Raisi 116 (116) -0; Aditya Mehta bt Ahmed Bashir Al Khusaibi 101-10; Advani/ Brijesh Damani bt Al Raisi/ Al Khusabi 68-24).