Qualifier Joshi hogs the limelight

CALCUTTA, January 17: It turned out to be an anti-climax of a final of the 64th National Snooker Championships. Neither Devendra Joshi nor Ashok Shandilya were in their elements. It was clear from the beginning that the cueist making fewer mistakes would win. Joshi made fewer mistakes and won his first national snooker title by seven frames to four, only the third player in the history of the event, after BVS Murthy and Sidharth Rao, to have won competing as a qualifier.

Shandilya was nowhere in the picture in the first frame. After Joshi got a break of 41 in the fifth visit, Shandilya was targeting the second frame already. That too went to Joshi although Shandilya put up a stiff fifth with small breaks. Losing the first 5-89 and the second 46-66, Shandilya was more focussed in the third and was rewarded with a 77-47 win. Shandilya produced a big one in that with a 69 in the ninth with three blue and two black pots. Joshi was leading 47-8 at the eighth visit before Shandilya utilised a red opening to form the break.

The fourth frame was again a matter of small breaks with both the players missing simple shots and playing safe. The difference was that Shandilya, already finding it difficult to get his touch, was trying too hard. In the process, he left easy openings for Joshi. The qualifier won 69-37 before Shandilya got his act together to win the next 17-67 with a visit of 50.

The next four were also shared equally with Joshi playing erratic to earn a break of 66 in the eighth frame and giving 10 negative points in the next. The day’s biggest break came in the 10th frame Joshi blanking Shandilya with a 72 in the fifth visit itself with the reds and the colours neatly spread out for him. He potted the black seven times. The final frame was also an easy one with Joshi clinching the issue with a 63-40 margin.