Reigning IBSF World 6-Red snooker champion Kamal Chawla and multiple-time IBSF World champion Pankaj Advani will lead India’s challenge at the ACBS Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship and the Asian Team Snooker (15-Red) Championship beginning here on Sunday.
Besides seasoned cueist Chawla, reigning National champion Paras Gupta and Pushpender Singh are the other Indians who will compete in the shorter version of snooker in the continental bash.
Advani will look to help India regain the team championship that begins on Thursday. Brijesh Damani, part of the team that won the title two years ago in Iran, and former pro and World Games gold medallist Aditya Mehta are the other members of the formidable three-member team.
A late bloomer, Chawla has been playing some of his best snooker in recent years. The 45-year-old’s maiden World 6-Red triumph last year in Mongolia is testimony to that. The veteran, a three-time bronze medallist in the continental event, will look to go all the way this time around.
“I am going in with no expectations. I will take it one frame and one match at a time,” Chawla said on the eve of the championship.
Gupta will also look to make it count in his maiden Asian event. Known for his aggressive style of play, the talented 29-year-old from Agra has been turning heads with his display in recent times. The National Games (Goa) gold medallist, a finalist of the longer version of snooker at the Nationals in 2023, will certainly be watched with interest.
Pushpender, who has been a quarterfinalist twice in the shorter version, has the game to match the best in the business. It will depend on how the 37-year-old Railway cueist handles the pressure on the big stage.
The squads: Asian 6-Red Snooker (June 22-26): Kamal Chawla, Paras Gupta, Pushpender Singh.
15-Red Snooker Team (June 26-28): Pankaj Advani, Brijesh Damani, Aditya Mehta.
