Defending champion Raajeev Sharma (+30 handicap) of Malabar Hill Club encountered quite a strong challenger for unheralded Krishna Tohgaonkar (+30 handicap) of Thane, but managed to scrape through by clinching a nervy 4-3 victory in the best-of-7-frame final of the BSAM Snooker Challenger (Leg-2) 2023-2024, at the Bombay Gymkhana.
On the adjacent table, Deven Patel from Kalyan was simply superb and emerged champion by convincingly defeating Islam Gymkhana's Alam Shaikh 4-1 in the Leg-1 best-of-7-frame final.
Sharma started in rousing fashion and after taking the opening honours winning the first frame, he produced a magnificent break of 99 points to extend the lead. He continued with the momentum and narrowly won the third to lead 3-0. But, the Thane contender who plays at Cue-In Snooker parlour won the following three frames to draw level at 3-all.
The Malabar Hill Club seasoned cueist showed that he is a fierce competitor as he gathered his wits and won the decider to complete a nerve-wracking 74-63, 129(99)-32, 103-100, 84-96, 80-88, 53-86 and 101-84 triumph.
The Islam Gymkhana player Shaikh started on a promising note and grabbed the initiative by winning the first frame. But, he was not given much opportunities by the Kalyan fighter Patel who went on to win the next four frames on the trot to secure a deserving 60-71, 78-26, 62-28, 60-35 and 64-57 victory.
Results – Leg-2 final: Raajeev Sharma (Malabar Hill Club) beat Krishna Tohgaonkar (Cue-In Club, Thane) 4-3 (74-63, 129(99)-32, 103-100, 84-96, 80-88, 53-86 and 101-84 triumph.
Leg-1 final: Deven Patel (Kalyan) beat Alam Shaikh (Islam Gymkhana) 4-1 (60-71, 78-26, 62-28, 60-35 and 64-57).
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