NSCI Heyball National Championships: Vidya Pillai, Sundeep Gulati Emerge Champions

After a slow start, seasoned Karnataka cueist Vidya Pillai found her rhythm and range to put it across formidable Amee Kamani of Madhya Pradesh 8-6 en route to the women’s title at the inaugural NSCI Heyball National Championships here on Tuesday.

In the men’s final on the adjacent table, local pro Sundeep Gulati edged out Kamal Chawla of Railways 7-6. Gulati, who outclassed fellow Delhi cueist Hanish Sharma in the semifinals, came good when it mattered to keep Chawla at bay. The vanquished had earlier defeated Karnataka’s Harish Kumar 9-3 in the other semifinal.

Down 1-3 in the race-to-9 women’s final, Vidya had to dig deep into her reserves to force her way back into the contest. The 47-year-old, who won the heyball gold at the inaugural Commonwealth Billiards Championships last month, looked a different player as the match wore on.

The Bengalurean levelled at 3-3. With the final poised on a knife-edge at 5-5, Vidya shifted gears to race to 8-5. Amee, the current National snooker champion, did pull one back before running out of time in the 120-minute affair.

“Winning this title was very important for me. For, only the winner gets to compete in the Champion of Champions event in Australia next month,” said Vidya, who has more experience playing the newest discipline in cue sports than most competitors.

Results:

Men: Final: Sundeep Gulati (Del) bt Kamal Chawla (RSPB) 7-6. Semis: Gulati bt Hanish Sharma (Del) 9-3; Chawla bt Harish Kumar (Kar) 9-3.

Quarters: Chawla bt Harpreet Singh (Del) 9-6; Harish bt Shahbaz Aadil Khan (PSPB) 9-8; Sundeep bt Lalrina Renthei (Miz) 9-6; H Sharma bt Avinash Kumar (Del) 9-7.

Women: Final: Vidya Pillai (Kar) bt Amee Kamani (MP) 8-6. Semis: Vidya bt Anupama Ramachandran (TN) 7-5; Amee bt Neena Praveen (TN) 8-6.

Quarters: Anupama bt Ishika Shah (MP) 7-2; Amee bt Keerthana Pandian (Kar) 7-4; Vidya bt Suniti Damani (WB) 7-1; Neena bt Chitra Magimairaj (Kar) 5-3.

Final ranking: Men: 1. Sundeep Gulati (Del); 2. Kamal Chawla (RSPB); 3. Harish Kumar (Kar); 4. Hanish Sharma (Del); 5. Lalrina Renthlei (Miz); 6. Shahbaz Adil Khan (PSPB); 7. Harpreet Singh (Del); 8. Avinash Kumar (Del).

Women: 1. Vidya Pillai; 2. Amee Kamani (MP); 3. Anupama Ramachandran (TN); 4. Neena Praveen (TN); 5. Keerthana Pandian (Kar); 6. Suniti Damani (WB); 7. Ihika Shah (MP); 8. Chitra Magimairaj (Kar).