The CCI Open Snooker Tournament 2018
Jaisinghani fights back to down Adani in first round
03-Feb-2018
Gaurav M Jaisinghani
Mumbai, February 3: Gaurav M. Jaisinghani of Vashi showed plenty of resilience and strong fighting spirit as he, after losing the opening two frames, recovered to snatch a remarkable 3-2 victory against Rajiv Adani of Matunga Gymkhana in a best-of-five frame first round match of the Rs 12.25 lakh prize-money CCI All India Open Snooker Championship 2018, win, at the CCI’s Wilson Jones Billiards Room.
The Vashi cueist looked to be down and out as Adani grabbed his chances to pocket the first two frames and was within distance of coasting to victory. But, Gaurav seemed unfazed and gradually found his touch and with some steady play he managed to bounce back in grand fashion by winning the next three frames in succession to turn the match in his favour. Gaurav completed a 28-64, 5-83, 71-25, 79-47, 69-14 to advance to the next round.
Meanwhile, Puru Dembla from Agra staved off a spirited challenge from Rajesh Rana of Cricket Club of India to also pull off a close 3-2 win in another first round encounter. The visiting cueist from Agra quite comfortably grabbed the first two frames, but was unable to maintain the momentum in the subsequent two frames. The home player Rana, did well to win the third and fourth frames by close margins and take the match to the fifth frame. The decider also witnessed a keen contest as the scores ran close before Dembla managed to hold his nerves to win the crucial fifth frame to clinch a 66-27, 53-28, 36-43, 44-48, 62-59 victory.
Neville Razmi of Radio Club also came through a tight first round encounter against Chandu Kansodaria of Mandpeshwar Civic Federation, posting a 3-2 win. Neville played with lots of determination to record a 62-52, 78-33, 66-69, 9-65, 68-30 victory and join his young son Shahyan in the second round.
Rajeev Sharma of Malabar Hill Club, Shubham Ranade of Elphinstone Cricket Club and Kishore Laungani of Khar Gymkhana, all easily won their first round ties by identical 3-0 margins to march into the second round.
Results – 1st round: Harshad Somkamble (BSAA) bt Kushal Chhadva (Thane) 3-0 (71-40, 61-9, 51-38); Divesh Gangwani (JVPG) bt Furqaan Abrahami 3-1 (35-67, 68-29, 60-18, 76-0); Puru Dembla (Agra) bt Rajesh Rana (CCI) 3-2 (66-27, 53-28, 36-43, 44-48, 62-59); Sumit Ahuja (Ulhasnagar) bt Raj Khandwala (CCI) 3-1 (88-58, 48-57, 48-38, 49-1); Neville Razmi (Radio Club) bt Chandu Kansodaria (MCF) 3-2 (62-52, 78-33, 66-69, 9-65(39), 68-30); Niraj Vasava (Surat) bt Yash Babani (Otters Club) 3-1 (62-25, 20-49, 54-39, 64-9); Rajeev Sharma (Malabar Hill Club) bt Pramod Pol (ECC) 3-0 (56-19, 63-14, 54-9); Omkar Gore (Chiplun) bt Mithun Merchant (CCI) 3-1 (39-52, 54-49, 68-23, 57-14); Gaurav M Jaisinghani (Vashi) bt Rajiv Adani (MG) 3-2 (28-64, 5-83, 71-25, 79-47, 69-14); Omar Ahmed Farooqui (BSAA) bt Amit Sapru (Park Club) 3-1 (52-25, 49-54, 73-41, 59-31); Shubham Ranade (ECC) bt Alam Shaikh 3-0 (71-43, 58-39, 62-12); Kishore Laungani (Khar Gymkhana) bt Akshay Joshi 3-0 (70-37, 59-9, 68-33).