Talwar, Kamani emerge men's, women's champions

Women's champion Amee Kamani defended her title against Varshaa Sanjeev.

Men's and women's Senior National Snooker champions, Sumit Talwar and Amee Kamani pose with their titles.

Sumit Talwar and Amee Kamani emerged as the men’s and women’s champions respectively in the Senior National snooker championship, at KSBA here on Saturday.

While Talwar coasted to his maiden snooker National title, Amee sneaked past Varshaa Sanjeev to defend her crown.

Chandigarh’s Talwar, primarily a pool player, whipped Railway’s Malkeet Singh 57-49, 45-77, 66-39, 80-51, 76-44, 66-58, 61-54 in the final. Talwar relied on his powerful potting and unorthodox technique – borrowed from his pool trade – to get past the classical Malkeet.

“I didn’t change my game much. I play snooker the way I play pool,” Talwar, 35, stated.

Amee roared back from a tough position, just like she did against Vidya Pillai in the semifinal. Down 1-3 to the steady Varshaa, Amee won the final three frames to set up a pulsating finish.

“The pressure of playing the final made me quite nervous. When I trailed 1-3, I made a conscious effort to calm down and let the game take its natural course. I was then able to relax and perform at my best,” the 25-year Amee said.