Mehta, Advani lock horns in finals before WC

Mumbai: India’s lone snooker professional, Aditya Mehta, and former professional, Pankaj Advani, are in the 32-man draw for the 1st RKG Open tournament’s finals which commenced on Tuesday. Both Mehta and Advani have won one leg each out of the four legs held earlier to qualify for the finals being played at the NSCI Stadium in Worli before figuring in the World Cup, featuring top players from 23 countries and to be played on the Davis Cup format, commencing on June 15 in China. “I played the Chennai leg and won and that’s why I qualified. It’s a good match practice. I want to put more matches under my belt and I look at this event as a good preparation for the World Cup starting next Monday,” said Mehta here today.   The tournament, a straight knock-out event carrying a total prize fund of Rs 21 lakh with Rs 2.5 lakh earmarked for the winner to be decided on June 13, will see all the top cueists of the country in action.