ONGC-IBSF World Billiards Championship 2008 :: Bangalore - India

01 - 10 September 2008

Sports are a great leveler. One day you may be up in the skies and on another day you may be grounded to dust. This harsh reality was once again repeated here on Tuesday at the Mc Dowell billiards hall of the KSBA complex on the penultimate day of the ONGC sponsored 2008 IBSF World billiards time format championship.

The billiards maestro, Geet Sethi was "all at sea" in one of the semifinals of the championship. Trouncing him was the "wonder boy of billiards". the darling of Bangalore, Pankaj Advani by 1269-1003 points in the four hour tie which never rose to any height but for the triple century compiled by the defending champion, Pankaj.

On a day when nothing went right for Geet, Pankaj only had to perform adequately. Geet played the drop cannon link shot required to come to the top of the table, a trifle quickly. And when he did come to the top he was a trifle slow in his flow there. His timing was missing, his rhythm out, often running out of position where on normal given day he would be superb in his fluency, shot selection and sure of touch. As he came out unstuck, he uncharacteristically even made faulty selections.

Once doubts take over your mind only time can bring you back and Pankaj made sure that he did not give many chances to his rival leaving him with no time for his usual comebacks.

It was Pankaj who gained the ascendancy with a break of 397 points to forge ahead a vital lead of 741-425 points at the interval after two hours of play. When play resumed after a gap of three hours many a lover of the game expected a fight back from Geet. But Geet who has often done it many a times, for once just could not get into his groove. His concentration level was poor, hence his cue - delivery suffered. Pankaj on the other hand having survived a scare from Sourav Kothari only yesterday, made sure that he did not let this chance slip. He played tactically, intelligently and skillfully to complete his task with confidence.

The other semifinal between Devendra Joshi and Rupesh Shah was even more drab. At best it was a very mediocre show by the two cueists. One can understand the tension and the craving to reach a final of a world event but what is not pardonable, is the fact that the spectator comes to enjoy the skill and artistry in a sport like billiards. This type of display only serves to kill the sport. Already, this beautiful game, especially in the time format is gasping for breath and if we are putting it on an oxygen cylinder then we can rest assured that very soon only the cynosures will venture forth to witness a billiards contest. Not only have we to spare a thought for the lovers of the game, the onus is on the top cueists of the country to ensure that it remains alive.

Joshi chipping in breaks of a 104 and a 224 was in the driver's seat right from the word go. Rupesh seemed affected by the glare of the lights on the centre table as he struggled and struggled all the way. Joshi was a little better as is evident by the two breaks he put up.
At the intermission, Joshi was leading by 568-378 points and one hoped that Rupesh would stage a rally but after resumption things did not improve for Rupesh. Joshi strung together another three centuries to assert his supremacy. Breaks of 127, 126 and 168 points ensured that the result would be obvious. Rupesh had a single century to show on this forgettable day, a break of 103. Joshi won comfortably by 1228-820 points to enter the final.

Everybody here are keeping their fingers crossed that tomorrow will be another day. The crowd expects not only a close match but also something worth looking forward to. Pankaj with the local support that he has, is the clear favourite to clinch the title in a six hour billiards game. And if as expected, Pankaj wins, then it would be a double delight for him since he has already won the World points format billiards championship only last week.

CSI Correspondent - I S Malik