Kunal emerges jr Natl billiards runner-up

Kunal Agarwal became the first cueist Orissa to emerge National junior billiards runner-up yesterday. Bhubaneswar youth Kunal achieved the distinction in the 33rd Junior Billiards Championship at Yeshwant Club, Indore (Madhya Pradesh). Top seed Shahbaaz Khan of Petroleum Sports Control Board retained the title by winning all three of his round robin league matches. He defeted Kunal Agarwal 498-475, Aditya Agarwal (Maharastra) 684-398 and Manish Jain (West Bengal) 684-389. There was a three-way tie for the runner-up position as Kunal, Aditya and Manish ended with one win and two defeats each. Kunal, 19, eventually sealed the No 2 position as his total losing points were less than the other two opponents.