Matunga Gymkhana 6 Red Open Snooker Tournament 2018.
Pune cueists Arantxa, Taaha encounter mixed fortunes
24-Mar-2018
Himanshu Jain (Gail)
Mumbai, March 24: Pune cueists Arantxa Sanchis and Taaha Khan encountered mixed fortunes in their respective best-of-9 frame pre-quarter-final round matches of the Matunga Gymkhana 6-Red Open Snooker Tournament 2018, sponsored and hosted by Matunga Gymkhana, under the auspices of BSAM and played at the gymkhana’s billiards hall.
While Arantxa’s fine winning streak came to a grinding halt as she went down fighting to the more accomplished Faisal Khan of Railways by a, 2-5 margin, Taaha put up a tremendous performance to record a stunning 5-4 win against Ishpreet Singh Chadha of Khar Gymkhana in an exciting and long draw encounter.
In another last 16 match, defending champion Himanshu Jain of GAIL defeated Hasan Badami (CCI) 5-3 to move a step closer towards retaining his title.
Rahul Sachdev (Cue Schooling) and Nikhil Ootam (CCI) also advance to the quarter-finals. The left-handed Sachdev tamed Abhimanyu Gandhi (Otters) 5-1 and Ootam prevailed over his club mate Mukund Bharadia (CCI) 5-2.
Arantxa, one of the three women players who were in the fray, had beaten some experienced players in the previous rounds, but was unable to match the superior Railways player Faisal, who with some steady play went on to clinch a 36-6, 16-55, 7-39, 42-0, 44-8, 30-15 and 39-5 victory.
Meanwhile, Taaha played with plenty of grit and determination against the talented Ishpreet and cashed in on every chance to build small useful breaks to snatch a close win in a thrilling contest. His best efforts were 33 (2nd frame) and 39 (8th frames) which helped him to snatch a deserving 12-40, 40(33 break)-28, 9-34, 30-32, 28-24, 6-51, 41-0, 45(39 break)-21 and 33-19 victory.
Results – 5th round: Mukund Bharadia (CCI) bt Karan Mangat (Vashi) 5-1 (72(33)-16, 44-4, 43(36)-6, 5-48, 33-22, 42-7); Kamal Chawla (Railways) bt Santosh Pawar (Khar Gym) 5-0 (58-14, 36-23, 36-16, 35-25, 45-31); Manav Panchal (MHC) bt Mohmed Husain (Railways) 5-0 (40-28, 36-10, 32(20)-11, 37(22)-23, 47(27,20)-14); Laxman Rawat (BG) bt Anurag Baagri (ECC) 5-1 (35(27)-26, 55(55)-0, 39(30)-5, 63(63)-1, 22-31, 34-29).
Pre-quarter-finals: Himanshu Jain (GAIL) bt Hasan Badami (CCCI) 5-3 (0-51, 17-44, 8-50(50), 38(30)-26, 59(31)-6, 43-40, 37-0, 40-1); Rahul Sachdev (Cue Schooling) bt Abhimanyu Gandhi (Otters) 5-1 (49(44)-22, 37-7, 42(42)-23, 33(32)-18, 1-41, 44(44)-7); Taaha Khan (Pune) bt Ishpreet Singh Chadha (Khar Gym) 5-4 (12-40, 40(33)-28, 9-34, 30-32, 28-24, 6-51, 41-0, 45(39)-21, 33-19); Nikhil Ootam (CCI) bt Mukund Bharadia (CCI) 5-2 (36-1, 34-2, 0-48, 27-15, 35-18, 15-44(36), 39-8); Faizal Khan (Railway) bt Arantxa Sanchis (Pune) 5-2 (36-6, 16-55, 7-39, 42-0, 44-8, 30-15, 39-5); Anand Raghuvanshi (PJHG) bt Asim Kadiwala (Arabian Kings) 5-0 (48-8, 26-16, 43-16, 31-2, 70(70)-0).