BHUBANESWAR 12-Jun-2011 167
Sourav Kothari beat his fellow PSPB cueist and three-time junior National champion Shahbaaz Adil Khan 6-5 in the exciting final to emerge champion in the 1st BSA East Zone Open Snooker Tournament here at BSA Complex, Patia on Sunday. In the 11th and final frame fourth seed Shahbaaz missed a pink ball, while second seed Sourav putted it perfectly to clinch the match 60-48, 110-8, 67-69, 63-21, 50-68, 103-19, 44-95, 73-8, 34-69, 16-74, 66-55.
The champion received the top prize of Rs 50,000, while the runner-up took home Rs 25,000. Losing semifinalists Brijesh Damani, the top seed and Shyam Jagtiani, seeded third, became richer by Rs 12,000 each, while the losing quarterfinalists were given Rs 6,000 each. The prize for the highest break of the tournament was claimed by Shahbaaz, who pocketed Rs 10,000 for his break of 104 earlier in the semifinals.
Nine-time world billiards and snooker champion Geet Sethi graced the closing ceremony as chief guest and presented the trophies and cash prizes. The graceful Sethi, the only player in the history of cuesports to have scored a maximum break of 147 in competitive snooker and a 1000-plus break in competitive billiards, exhorted young cueists to work hard and help India continue its domination in the world of cuesports.
Billiards and Snooker Association of Orissa (BSAO) secretary Srimoy Kar and host Billiards and Snooker Academy (BSA) proprietor Jiten Sarangi were present on the occasion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Geet Sethi (Centre) with Sourav Kothari (Left) and Shahbaaz Adil Khan at the closing ceremony of the BSA East Zone Open Snooker Tournament in Bhubaneswar on June 12, 2011.
