Mumbai: Mumbai’s talented cueist Rayaan Razmi was in sparkling form and stole the thunder as he produced three century breaks during his dazzling 5-1 (60-30, 137-0, 101-0, 23-76, 87-0, 113-0) win against Devendra Joshi (PSPB) in a round of 16 best-of-9-frame match of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) organised ‘Baulkline’ NSCI Rs 13 lakh prize-money All India Snooker Open 2023, at the NSCI billiards hall, on Thursday.
The lanky Rayaan seemed to have found his rhythm after winning the opening frame as he polished off the table in making a superb 121 in the second and followed it with another fine unfinished run of 101 to take a 3-0 lead. Joshi managed to save face as he rattled in a break of 70 to win the fourth. Rayaan fired in a break of 65 to win the fifth and then signed off with another brilliant 109 effort to wrap the contest. Despite the fluent victory Rayaan was not too satisfied. “I won easily, but I am not satisfied as I could have done better. Anyways, I hope to perform better in the next match,” a modest Rayaan said.
“Rayaan played very well. He played an open attacking game and potting was fluent, whether he attempted the long pots or soft. He showed fluency with his shots as he maneuvered around the table to get into good position. It’s not simple to make three century breaks and also a good run of 65. It was amazing to watch him play,” Joshi admitted. Ishpreet Singh Chadha, another young talent from Mumbai also showed his class with steady potting cruised past city mate Rrahul Sachdev coasting to a 5-2 (94-0, 74-44, 0-94, 57-65, 59-50, 71-25, 70-0) win to join Rayaan in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Sourav Kothari of PSPB moved a step closer towards the defence of his title as he record a fluent 5-2 (95-21, 67-39, 73-41, 11-60, 85-39, 1-88, and 88-0) win against Piyush Kushwaha of Madhya Pradesh in another pre-quarter-final match. The Kolkata-based defending champion Kothari potted consistently and with accuracy as he rolled in three substantial breaks of 95 (1st frame), 69 (5th) and 82 (7th) to secure his win and a place in the quarter-finals. In another match, Shabaz Khan of Mumbai looked in complete control and sent Railways cueist Pushpender Singh off track as he raced to a fluent 5-1 (52-44, 74-21, 0-105, 76(62)-60, 82-42, 76-60) win and advance to the last eight.
Meanwhile, Kothari’s compatriots Aditya Mehta and Laxman Rawat both faced tough challenges but managed to pull through and also progressed to the quarter-finals. The tall lanky Mehta, a former Indian number one brushed aside the challenge from teammate Brijesh Damani winning the decider to complete a 5-4 (116-14, 82-38, 70-46, 12-84, 115-11, 42-67, 33-78, 44-80, and 63-53) win. Mehta started with a flourish and compiled a 116 points break in winning the opening frame and then won three of the next four frames to enjoy a healthy 4-1 lead. The determined Damani bounced back by winning three frames in succession to level the scores at 4-all. In the ninth frame, Mehta held his nerves and grabbed the chances to accumulate the points to pocket the deciding frame and clinch the match. Damani, who fought well, had notable breaks of 72, 56 and 69. Rawat also had to bring out his best to overcome teammate Shahbaaz Adil Khan 5-4 (58-46, 97-37, 35-57, 51-70, 8-77, 79-50, 2-71, 79-57, and 63-53) in a nail-biting contest.
Results - Round of 16: Rayaan Razmi (Mum) bt Devender Joshi (PSPB) 5-1 (60-30, 137(121*)-0, 101(101*)-0, 23-76(70), 87(65)-0, 113(109)-0); Ishpreet Singh Chadha (Mum) bt Rrahul Sachdev (Mum) 5-2 (94-0, 74-44, 0-94(94), 57(57)-65, 59-50, 71(69)-25, 70(69)-0); Sourav Kothari (PSPB) bt Piyush K 5-2 (95(95)-21, 67-39, 73-41, 11-60, 85(69)-39, 1-88(60), 88(82)-0); Shabaz Khan (Mum) bt Pushender Singh (Rlys) 5-1 (52-44, 74-21, 0-105, 76(62)-60, 82-42, 76-60); Aditya Mehta (PSPB) bt Brijesh Damani (PSPB) 5-4 (116(116*)-14, 82-38, 70-46, 12-84(72), 115-11, 42-67(56), 33-78(69), 74-52, 63-53); Laxman Rawat (PSPB) bt Shahbaaz Adil Khan (PSPB) 5-4 (58-46, 97(97)-37, 35-57, 51-70, 8-77, 79-50, 2-71, 79-57, 63-53).
