Ludhiana: Pool tourney Day 2 filled with dominant wins, close finishes
The matches played in a race-to-six format saw several top contenders stamp their superiority while others battled hard to stay in contention
The second day of the Manisha Constructions National Pool Tournament here on Wednesday was filled with dominant victories as well as close contests as the men’s 9-ball double elimination stage gathered momentum.
The matches played in a race-to-six format saw several top contenders stamp their superiority while others battled hard to stay in contention.
Among the standout performers, Alok Kumar from Punjab led the charge with a clinical 6-0 win over Aryan Dube from Rajasthan. Similar whitewashes were recorded by Chetan Chhabra (Telangana), Aushutosh Padhy (Odisha), Gagandeep Makkar (Chandigarh), Divya Sharma (Haryana) and Abhijeet Ranade (Maharashtra).
In contrast, several of the matches went down to the wire. Dilip Kumar from Rajasthan edged past Harmeet Bhandari from Punjab 6-5, and Ankur Khullar (Himachal Pradesh), Rehaan Misra (Delhi) and Ajay Galundia (Himachal Pradesh) registered narrow 6-5 wins in tightly contested encounters.
Other notable results saw Dhruv Varma (Punjab) defeat Shivam Kesarwani(Uttar Pradesh) 6-4.
ML Laxman (Karnataka), Nitesh Madan, Shobhit Sethi (Punjab), Ankit Rehani (Delhi), Malkeet Singh and E Panduranghaiah also moved ahead with comfortable victories.
With the double elimination stage still underway, the race for knockout berths is intensifying, promising more action in the coming rounds.
