Alok overpowers Shreyash 6-5 in national pool championship
High-quality action continued at the Manisha Constructions National Pool Championship on Wednesday, as the men’s 10-ball double elimination stage intensified and the women’s 9-ball event moved into its knockout phase.
The standout moment of the day came in a gripping encounter, where Alok Kumar from Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) overpowered Shreyash Pednekar (Goa) 6-5 in a contest that went down to the wire. With the scores locked at 4-4, Pednekar inched ahead to reach the hill first, but faltered under pressure at the decisive stage. Alok seized the opportunity with clinical precision to close out the match, advancing to the qualification round for the last 32.
The day witnessed a mix of nail-biting finishes and one-sided contests in men’s 10-ball competition. Pankaj Advani (PSPB) survived some anxious moments before edging out Shobhi Sethi (Punjab) 6-5, while Aayush Kumar (Punjab) and Saqlain Mushtaque (West Bengal) registered identical 6-5 wins over Laksh Sharma (Karnataka) and Namit Sharma (Delhi), respectively.
Among the dominant performers, Nitin Sharma (Chandigarh), Kushal Chandrashekhar (Karnataka) and Shahbaz Adil Khan (PSPB) recorded emphatic 6-0 victories. Chetan Chhabra (Telangana) secured a convincing 6-1 win over Manik Verma (Punjab).
Defending champions Shivam Arora (Maharashtra) maintained his momentum with a solid 6-4 win against Taranpreet Singh from Punjab.
Other winners included Abhijeet Ranade (Maharashtra), Piyush Khushwaha (Madhya Pradesh), Dhruv Varma (Punjab), Simrandeep Pal and Ranveer Dugaal, both from Chandigarh.
Women’s 9-ball event enters knockout stage
The women’s 9-ball event completed its double elimination phase, with the top eight players sealing their berths in the knockout rounds.
Ishika Shah (Madhya Pradesh) secured the top seed, followed by Anupama Ramachandran (Tamil Nadu) as the second seed in the qualification rounds. Chitra Magimairaj (Karnataka) defeated L Shruti (Tamil Nadu) 5-2, Natasha Chethan (Karnataka) impressed with multiple wins.
