World Team Snooker Championship 2026: India Lose 2-3 To China ‘B’, Face Must-Win Clash Against Turkey

Guangdong, June 16: Former champions India suffered a narrow defeat to China ‘B’ in their opening match of the World Team Snooker Championship here on Tuesday.

The 2-3 loss to the hosts in the three-team Group ‘B’ leaves India with a must-win game against Turkey on Wednesday morning.

India Fall Short In Decisive Frame

India had their chances to put it across their rivals in the best-of-five-frame encounter. With the match poised on a knife’s edge at 2-2, Aditya Mehta, who gave India the opening frame, frittered away the advantage and allowed the formidable Zhou Jinhao to help the hosts prevail in a thriller.

Down 20-22, Jinhao capitalised on Mehta’s poor safety shot with a crucial break of 23. The Chinese cueist resorted to safety after taking the penultimate red. After a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, the Indian missed a long red and sold it to the top left-hand pocket. The promising Jinhao took the generous offering gleefully to seal the frame and match for China ‘B’, who had earlier outclassed Turkey 3-0.

Jinhao Leads China ‘B’ Fightback

Earlier, Jinhao had defeated Pankaj Advani with a gritty break of 53 in the second frame to draw level with India. Partnering Xu Jianhao, Jinhao later compiled a flowing break of 81 to down Advani and Mehta in the doubles for a 2-1 lead.

Advani brought India back into contention with a splendid win over Ma Hailong. Despite the black ball being out of play — stuck near the top cushion — he made a frame-clinching break of 62 to level scores at 2-2. However, Mehta, who looked solid in his opening win against Hailong, failed to reproduce that same touch.

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Turkey Clash Becomes Must-Win Encounter

Results: Group ‘B’: China ‘B’ bt India 3-2 (Ma Hailong lost to Aditya Mehta 18-94 (54); Zhou Jinhao bt Pankaj Advani 76 (53)-29; Jinhao/Xu Jianhao bt Advani/Mehta 96 (81)-7; Hailong lost to Advani 12-73 (62); Jinhao bt Mehta 60-22).

China ‘B’ bt Turkey 3-0.