India’s talented snooker player Kreishh Gurbaxani, 21, qualified for the World Pro Snooker Tour for next season, according to a BSAM press release.
The strong-willed Mumbai-based Kreishh, showed tremendous fighting qualities to win four successive frames to turn the tables on Pakistan’s Muhammad Naseem Akhtar by clinching a satisfying 4-2 win in the final round of the 2024 Asia-Oceania Q-School (Event-2) Professional Tour Qualifier snooker event, played at the BSAT Academy, Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday.
“It feels great, but I still can’t believe that I qualified to compete on the World Pro circuit. It has not yet sunk in, it is going to take a while to sink in. I thank my coaches Yasin Merchant and Nigel Bond (in the UK) for my success and for achieving this,” Kreishh said over the phone from Bangkok.
The Khar Gymkhana cueist Kreishh tamely lost the first two frames, but showed solid character and played to his potential to stage a grand recovery by carving out a come-from-behind 23-56, 9-71, 65-34, 73-66, 67-15 and 76-20 frame scores win in a tense and engrossing match and earn his two-year pro tour card.
Haris Tahir of Pakistan won the final three frames to complete a 4-2 win over China's Lan Yuhao and also qualified for the World Snooker Tour.
“I will be participating on the World Pro circuit for the first time and it gives me a great opportunity to compete against the best snooker players in the world. It’s going to be extremely difficult, but I have no expectations. I will certainly give it my best shot and enjoy myself. It will be a good experience for me,” stated the modest Khar Gymkhana player Kreishh, who will return back to the UK to resume his training at Sheffield.
Kreishh had been practicing with the professional players in Sheffield since April.
Speaking about his win against his Pakistan opponent Akhtar, the Mumbai player Kreishh admitted that it was a tough match. “It was a tough and tense contest. Even after losing the first two frames, I told myself to stay focused and take one frame at a time and since I handled the pressure well I managed to pocket the next four frames, including the close fourth frame to come out trumps,” the Indian mentioned.
Kreishh will have the company and support of his Khar Gymkhana and Mumbai colleague Ishpreet Singh Chadha who turned pro and is currently participating in the Pro Circuit.
