After scare by Ishpreet, Advani reaches semis

India’s Pankaj Advani, the top seed, stormed into the semi-finals of the 32nd Asian Snooker Championship at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation (QBSF) Academy yesterday.It was an exhausting day for the cueists, who made it to the last four stage of the tournament, having had to play two matches on the day. Advani sailed smoothly into the semis ousting Syria’s Karam Fatima 5-0 in the quarter-finals.But he had to dig deep into his reserves in the last-16, where his compatriot Ishpreet Singh Chadha gave him a tough fight. The 30-year-old Advani eventually prevailed 4-3.Advani was leading 3-1 when Chadha clinched two frames to take the match into decider, which Advani managed to win 66-43. The final score was 25-57, 116-16, 57-41, 79-64, 50-67, 42-85, 66-43, with a century break of 107 by Advani in the second frame. Advani will now take on Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn of Thailand in the semi-finals today afternoon.Commenting on his entry into the semi-finals, Advani was relieved to have got over the line. “With two intensely important games on the same day within short spans of each other, it was essential that I be mentally prepared for each match. Post the afternoon’s game, I spent a long time dissecting my performance along with my brother, allowing myself to get it out of my system before I moved into the quarter-final match,” the Bangalorean said.“I am sure these conversations make a huge difference, because of the sole amount of mental strength needed for competitions at this level,” he added. Advani has been a finalist on three occasions at the Asian championship, but surprisingly has never won the title.Lertsattayathorn, meanwhile, shocked former IBSF World Champion Mohamed Asif of Pakistan 5-4 to enter the last four stage. Asif was leading 4-3 but Lertsattayathorn stunned the Pakistani to take the last two frames to win 46-69, 103-00, 40-76, 66-40, 116-00, 38-72, 21-82, 80-01, 81-00.In the second semi-final, Mohamed Shehab of UAE will take on Amir Sarkhosh of Iran. Shehab was in his elements as he powered past Saudi Arabia’s Omar Alajlani 5-1, while Sarkhosh beat Michael Mengorio of Philippines 5-3.RESULTSQuarter-finalsPankaj Advani (India) beat Karam Fatima (Syria) 5-0 (68-20,80(53)-00,73-10,72-00,64-32)Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn (Thailand) beat Muhammad Asif (Pakistan) 5-4 (46-69,103(86)-00,40-76(70),66-40,116(116)-00,38-72,21-82,80-01,81(81)-00)Mohammed Shehab (UAE) beat Omar Alajlani (Saudi Arabia) 5-1 (62-58,71(62)-06,41-57,73-15,72-65,99(99)-00)Amir Sarkhosh (Iran) beat Michael Mengorio (Philippines) 5-3 (60-55,80-00,109(83)-100(70)-11,20-91(73),33-92(92),11-97(59),58(54)-57 (50) Pre-quarter-finalsPankaj Advani beat Ishpreet Chadha (India) 4-3 (25-57, 116(107)-16, 57-41, 79-64, 50-67, 42-85, 66-43)Karam Fatima beat Yuttapop Pakpoj (Thailand) 4-2 (16-76(74), 45-33, 62-48, 54-32, 46-90, 89(74)-01)Muhammad Asif beat Soheil Vahedi (Iran) 4-2 (41-54, 53-19, 31-76, 71-56(54), 89(89)-42, 71-40)Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn beat Mohammad Bilal (Pakistan) 4-1 (76-34, 08-80, 65-58, 76(66)-51, 69-16)Mohammed Shehab beat Habib Subah (Bahrain) 4-1 (56-63, 66-39, 74-07, 78-45, 55-33)Omar Alajlani beat Moh Keen Hoo  (Malaysia) 4-3 (47-56,36-82(69),78(63)-18,63-45,60-20,00-68(52),59-33)Michael Mengorio beat Au Chi Wai (Hong Kong) 4-3 (87-49,16-72,87(82)-00,22-52,92(92)-01,27-69,93(66)-04)Amir Sarkhosh beat Arman Dinarvand (Iran) 4-0 (56-23, 65(52)-53, 73-39, 69-60)