Chandigarh
7 April 2017
DIVYA AZAD
Dhruv Sitwala is a strong contender to take the 3rd Asian Billiards Gold here in Chandigarh which will be played from 8th to 14th April at the Hyatt Regency here. Dhruv has won this event in 2015 and then again in 2016. India will be fielding a strong line up and it is to be seen if Dhruv will put his best foot forward.
The prestigious ONGC 16th Asian Billiards, 18th U-21 Asian Snooker Championship will for the first time see Ladies Asian Snooker Championship. The Punjab Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) is organizing the Championship under the aegis of the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports (ACBS) and Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI). The total prize money of the Championship has been kept at around Rs. 11 lakh.
Giving details Mr. D S Bains (IAS retd.), President, PBSA said, “Internationally renowned cue sports players from over 15 countries will be participating in this Championship and the people of the region will be able to witness world-class talent in action.
He informed, the other India players in the draw are: Pankaj Advani, Saurav Kothari, Siddharth Parikh, Balachandra Bhaskar, Brijesh Damani, Dwaj Haria, Rupesh Shah and Alok Kumar. From the other countries are: Jakarta Kurnaiwan & Marlando Sihombing (Indonesia), Nay Thway Oo, Min Sithu Tun, & Chit Ko Kl (Mayanmar), Hwang Chulho (South Korea), Praput Chaithanasakun, Thawat Sujaritthurakarn & Surya Suwanasingh (Thailand).
Talking about the format for the Championship, Mr. Alok Kumar, General Secretary, PBSA said, “The players will be representing their respective countries. For the ONGC Asian Snooker Under-21 Championship the First Round, Round Robin and the Last 16 Round would be Best of 7 Frames. The Quarter and Semi-Finals would be Best of 9 Frames while the Final would be Best of 11 frames played in one session with a 30-minute break. The Championship will be played on specially imported tables. International referees, along with Indian referees, will be adjudging the games.”
He said, In the Asian Snooker under 21, the Indian challenge will be led by India Junior. No.1, Asutosh Padhy, last years bronze medallist Ishpreet Singh Chadha, Hrithik Jain, Shrikrishna Suryanarayanan, Digvijay Kadian, Sparsh Pherwani, Sunny. A, Hussain Khan. From the other countries there are: Yuan Sijun, Zhang Jiankang, Lou Honghao, Fan Zhengyi ( China), Ming wa man, Yun Fung Tam, aka Wai Cheung (Hongkong), Sayed Abouzarian (Iran), Keishin Kamihashi ( Japan), Mukhamed Karimberdi Uulu ( Kyrgyzstan), Aung Phyo, Zin Min Hyun ( Myanmar), Haris Tahir, Mohammed Rafiq & Mohammed Naseem Akhtar ( Pakistan), Jeffrey Roda, Basil Alshajjar ( Philippines), Suhail Missry, Ayman Al amiri ( Saudi Arabia), Abdulkarim Maksoud, Yasan Al Haddad ( Syria), Pongsak Chongjairak, Narongdat Takantong & Tawan Pooltong ( Thailand).
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