Mehul Sutaria played with plenty of determination and managed to overcome the spirited challenge from Gautam Bhalla by snatching a tight 4-3 win in the best-of-7-frame qualifying draw first round match of the ‘NSCI Baulkline 3.0’ All India Snooker Open 2024, organized by National Sports Club of India (NSCI) and played at the billiards hall, Worli, on Monday.
In a match of fluctuating fortunes which went the distance, Sutaria stitched together some small breaks to win the crucial deciding frame to clinch a satisfying 40-31, 31-53, 37-59, 49-36, 56-42, 41-53 and 62-16 verdict and move to the next round.
Meanwhile, seasoned cueist Cherag Ramakrishnan showed glimpses of his form of yore and in the first frame hit a break of 44 points to set the ball rolling. Ramakrishnan put his vast experience to good advantage and brushed aside Jay Patel, winning in five games at 4-1 (62-35, 57-34, 61-21, 57-64, 93-38).
In another first round encounter, Vishal Gehani was calculated in his approach and went to blank Rishabh Shah posting a 4-0 (75-65, 66-39, 60-41 and 72-42) win.
Results – Round 1: Mehul Sutaria bt Gautam Bhalla 4-3 (40-31, 31-53, 37-59, 49-36, 56-42, 41-53, 62-16); Vinay Swaminathan bt Alam Shaikh 4-1 (86-16, 60-8, 27-81, 63-21, 75-7); Simranjeet Singh bt Kersi Aga 4-2 (49-37, 80-11, 36-61, 43-53, 45-30, 57-49); Cherag Ramakrishnan bt Jay Patel 4-1 (62(44)-35, 57-34, 61-21, 57-64, 93-38); Vishal Gehani bt Rishabh Shah 4-0 (75-65, 66-39, 60-41, 72-42); Anant Mehta bt Anil Kumar 4-1 (64-10, 66-51, 54-15, 57-70, 59-8); Abhijeet Ranade bt Shoyab Garag 4-1 (77-27, 64-1, 62-26, 33-69, 91-51); Piyush Limnad bt Mahshook Painingal 4-1 (49-22, 65-18, 68-61, 32-70, 50-46); Abhijit More bt Sagar Jain 4-0 (64-49, 63-30, 70-30, 57-35); Prayanshu Palan bt Shubham Wani 4-0 (49-41, 75-65, 54-51, 69-26); Dipesh Chawan bt Gaurav Vithlani 4-0 (42-31, 74-39, 63-21, 46-29);
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