Joshi stuns Sethi; Alok halts Advani's winning run

Defending champion Geet Sethi had mixed fortunes, winning an encounter and losing another while junior National champion Pankaj Advani's winning streak came to an end when compatriot Alok Kumar beat him in the second Asian billiards championship in Bangalore on Thursday.

In a close match in Group 'A', Joshi defeated Sethi 102-6, 102-22, 31-101, 77-101, 101-80.

Luck did not favour Sethi, who went in for a safe shot to place balls to his advantage in the deciding game. The match had been postponed to today from yesterday on Sethi's request.

In an earlier match, Sethi had defeated Henry Boteju of Sri Lanka 3-0.

Advani was shocked by Alok Kumar in Group 'B' 80-102, 102-87, 101-33, 101-73.

By virtue of five wins in the eight-player league, Advani, Devendra Joshi and Alok Kumar are assured of a quarter-final berth.

Meanwhile, U Kyaw Oo of Mynamar kept alive his chances of making further progress in the tourney by registering his fourth successive win in Group 'B', defeating Udon Khaimukh of Thailand 68-101, 24-100, 101-23, 100-78, 101-51.

National champion, Ashok Shandilya registered his third successive victory, the second for Thursday, when he humbled Theik Chong Alan Paun of Singapore 100-4, 102-29, 100-67 in Group 'B'.

India's Dhruv Satwala recorded his third win in Group A, defeating Mongkon of Thailand 42-100, 101-24, 52-100, 102-43, 102-53.

Earlier in the day, Advani, Joshi and Alok Kumar registered emphatic.

The 16-year-old Advani, India's junior national champion, whose form in the tourney has stunned many, scored his fifth successive victory in Group 'B', when he trounced U Kyaw Oo of Myanmar 100-15, 56-100, 101-55, 101-42.

Others who recorded successive wins were Alok Kumar and Devendra Joshi, in Group 'B' and 'A' respectively.

While Alok Kumar outplayed U Win Myint of Myanmar 77-101, 104-49, 101-83, 101-0, Joshi defeated Ronnie Chua Poh Teck of Singapore, winning 100-31, 100-2, 100-45.

Sethi indicated that he is among the hot contenders for the title, which he won 16 years ago, as he defeated Boteju (Sri Lanka) 100-96 100-28 100-85, after recording a good break of 79 in the second game. It was Sethi's third successive victory in the tournament.

Shandilya registered his second victory after a rather bad start when he outclassed Udon Khaimukh of Thailand 101-53, 102-96, 101-92.

In other Group 'B' matches, Glen Yeo Teck Shin of Singapore defeated compatriot Theik Chong Alan Puan 101-53, 100-43, 100-97 while U Aung San Oo of Myanmar beat Muslim of Indonesia 102-16, 70-100, 100-29, 101-47.