CHENNAI: Top seed Varshaa Sanjeev of Karnataka blanked Sanvi Shah of Madhya Pradesh 49-13, 64 (51)-1 in the first round Group A match of the Mylapore Club All-India Ladies Invitation snooker tournament held at the club premises on Sunday. Varshaa made a break of 51 in the second frame to win the match.
In another match in Group D, Keerthana Pandian of Karnataka posted a 71-18, 104 (34)-5 win over Safilo Sara Benny of Tamil Nadu.
Keerthana made a break of 34 in the second frame to win the match. “Elated with the good start. The format of the tournament is innovative. The field is also strong,’’ said Keerthana after the victory. The Class XII student of Mahaveer Jain College, Bengaluru, revealed that winning gold medal in the World U-16 Snooker Championship was a turning point in her career.
“I started to play cue sports because of my father Pandian, who was also good in this sport. Clinching gold at the U-16 snooker world meet has given me the confidence and self-belief. With every tournament, I want to improve my game. My role model is Pankaj Advani sir, who also happens to be my mentor,’’ said the 17-year-old.
Results: Group A: Manasvini (TN) bt Neeta Kothari (WB) 53-21, 69-20; Indira Gowda (KAR) bt Manasvini (TN) 51-39, 67-20. Group B: Sunita Khandelwal (MP) bt Renu Bharaktiya (MP) 33-53, 96-68, 60-22; Uma Devi (KAR) bt Sunita Khandelwal 65-19, 48-17. Group C: Ishika Shah (MP) bt Chitrakala (TN) 64-13, 67-21; Chitra M (KAR) bt Mohitha (TN) 67-63, 42-34; Heena Khandelwal bt Mohitha (TN) 18-56, 37-36, 65-2.
Vijay, Yogesh in final
Vijay Nichani of Coimbatore defeated Parthiba Rajendran of Madurai 4-3 in the semifinals of the Chinthamani Memorial Open snooker tournament. In another match, Yogesh Kumar of Bengaluru got the better of Railways’ Dilip Kumar 4-3.
Results: Semifinals: Vijay Nichani (Coimbatore) bt Parthiba Rajendran (Madurai) 4-3; Yogesh Kumar (Bengaluru) bt Dilip Kumar (Railways) 4-3. Quarterfinals: Vijay Nichani (Coimbatore) bt Rafath Habib (Railways) 4-2; Parthiba Rajendran (Madurai) bt Girish (Railways) 4-1; Dilip Kumar (Railways) bt Peter Paul (Railways) 4-3; Yogesh Kumar (Bengaluru) bt R Loganathan (TNBSA) 4-3.
Andhra bag three points
The South Zone Vijay Merchant Trophy U-16 match between Andhra and Tamil Nadu ended in a draw at Chukkapalli Pitchaiah Grounds, Mulapadu on Sunday. G Pardhasaradhi’s 3/35 helped Andhra bundle out Tamil Nadu for 133 in their second essay. Chasing 121 for a win, Andhra were 72/3 after 24 overs in their second essay when the play ended.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 150 & 133 (G Pardhasaradhi 3/35) drew with Andhra 163 & 72/3 in 24 ovs. Pts: Andhra 3; TN 1.
Kishoor shines
G Kishoor’s 4/5 helped Pachaiyappa’s College thrash Vivekananda College by nine wickets in the semifinals of the IIT Madras-Sanmar T20 league tournament.
Batting first, Vivekananda College were dismissed for a paltry 69 with Kishoor doing the bulk of the damage. In reply, Pachaiyappa’s chased down the target in 11.3 overs . AS Santhosh hit an unbeaten 49 for the winning side.
Brief scores: Semifinals: Gurunanak College A 140/7 in 20 ovs (Bharath Hariharan 35, Vignesh Yadav 31; Milton 4/26) bt Gurunanak College B 117/8 in 20 ovs (TD Lokesh Raj 4/14). Vivekananda College 69 in 16.4 ovs (G Kishoor 4/5) lost to Pachaiyappa’s College 75/1 in 11.3 ovs (AS Santhosh 49 n.o).