Advani prevails, Haria reaches second SF at national championship

Advani had a fight in his hands, while Haria beat two-time national champion Kothari enroute to the quarters.

Haria will make his second semi-final appearance at the national championship.

Dhvaj Haria enjoyed a good day at the office in the Senior National men’s billiards championship, at KSBA here on Saturday. The PSPB cueist first took out two-time national champion Sourav Kothari in the round-of-16, before defeating Siddharth Parikh in the evening session to reach the semifinal.

This is Haria's second appearance in the last-four stage of the national championship. His previous showing came in the 2016 Indore edition, where he lost to eventual champion Kothari.

Read: Shrikrishna progresses to last-16

In another quarterfinal clash, Pankaj Advani defeated Alok Kumar 150-134, 151-47, 151-110, 153-0. Advani prevailed in a tight first frame, which lasted for nearly 45 minutes. Alok’s safety play initially kept his younger opponent on the ropes, before Advani came out swinging to seize the advantage.

In the closing stages of the fourth frame, Advani turned on the heat, thudding in pots and in-offs with tremendous force. “I was a little unhappy that I was unable get a 150-break in the first three frames. So when I got the chance to get one in the fourth, I got excited and finished with a flourish,” Advani, the defending champion, explained.

Semifinal line-up: Dhvaj Haria v B. Bhaskar; Pankaj Advani v Rupesh Shah