Ludhiana: National pool tournament sees tense finishes on Day 3

Tense finishes marked Day 3 of the Manisha Constructions National Pool Championship (9-Ball and 10 Ball) on Thursday at the Rotary Club. The tournament is being organised by the Punjab Billiards and Snooker Association.

State players maintained strong positions, reflecting depth in cue sports.

A number of matches turned out to be keen contests. Ashutosh Padhy (Odisha) survived a scare before winning 6-5 against Nitesh Madan (Railway Sports Promotion Board). Alok Sharma (Rajasthan) edged past Prashanth R (Karnataka) 6-5.

As the 9-ball double elimination stage gathered momentum with matches played in a race-to-six format, the day also saw its share of one-sided wins.

Some players scripted emphatic 6-0 wins to prove their mettle. Dilip Kumar (Railway Sports Promotion Board) blanked Khushwant (Punjab) and Sukhpreet Singh (Punjab) outplayed Keshvinder Singh (Punjab). Viren Sharma (Madhya Pradesh) also registered a 6-0 win over Alok Sharma (Rajasthan).

Among other results, S Shrikrishna (Tamil Nadu) defeated Ankit Rehani (Delhi) 6-4 and Shabz Adil Khan (Railway Sports Promotion Board) outplayed Sunil Auluck (Punjab) 6-2. Nitin Sharma (Chandigarh) overcame Vinay Chawla (Punjab) 6-4 and Robin Singh (Punjab) got the better of Arpit Seth (Delhi) 6-2. Harmeet Bhandari (Punjab) triumphed over Ankur Nanda (Haryana) 6-4, Deepanshu Rohilla (Chandigarh) beat Chaitanya Parashar (Rajasthan) 6-2 and Ravish Arora (Punjab) recorded an easy 6-1 win over Navneet Malhotra (Punjab). Arun Chhabra (Punjab) continued his winning streak with a scoreline of 6-4 against Rajat Kaura (Punjab).

As the double elimination stage progresses, the competition is intensifying with players vying for qualification to the knockout rounds. With stakes rising, the championship is expected to witness see more action in the coming days.