Subramaniam opens with a win in state selection tourney

Mumbai, Nov 26 (UNI) V Subramaniam and Aditya Mehta fired big breaks to open their account with thrilling wins as the four-men Senior Billiards round robin league got under way, in the Matunga Gymkhana Maharashtra State Selection 2007 Billiards&Snooker Tournament, here today.

Enjoying home conditions on a familiar surface, Matunga Gymkhana's Subramaniam rifled in a decisive break of 157 on his last visit to overcome P J Hindu Gymkhana's Chandresh Shah 717-569 in a two-and-a-half hour tight contest.

Both endured indifferent form at the start but Subramaniam, who also added a 177 earlier, always maintained a 100-point lead until Shah closed in around the 450 mark. With about a half-hour remaining Subramaniam came up with a break of 55 on his penultimate visit and, desperate for a big break, he rifled in that 157 to seal victory.

Aditya Mehta too is enjoying a good form in the competition and it reflected when he notched the highest break of 185 en route to a pulsating 777-726 win over seasoned campaigner Arun Agrawal.

Mehta kicked off the contest by rifling the 185 in the first 15 minutes and led by more than 200 points. Agrawal briefly recovered with a few 50 plus breaks to keep his hopes alive.

As Mehta replied well, he led by more than 240 points in the latter half. But Agrawal kept pace with a brilliant 113. Mehta though built on the 30s and 40s as Agrawal missed some simple shots that took its toll.

Results: Sr Billiards Semi-Final Round Robin: Aditya Mehta bt Arun Agrawal 777-726; V Subramaniam bt Chandresh Shah 717-569.

UNI