World 6-Red Snooker C’Ship: Chawla wins gold, India clinches three more bronze

In the women’s category, India’s Vidya was unable to defend her title, finishing with a bronze medal after a hard-fought semifinal loss to Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, with the scoreline at 2-4.

Kamal Chawla in action during the Asian Snooker Tour tournament at KSBA in Bengaluru on April 22, 2019. | Photo Credit: The Hindu/SUDHAKARA JAIN

Indian veteran Kamal Chawla clinched his maiden IBSF World 6-Red title with a commanding 6-2 victory over Pakistan’s Asjad Iqbal in the final of the IBSF World Men’s 6-Red Snooker Championship here on Wednesday.

India also bagged three more bronze medals through Malkeet Singh, Vidya Pillai and Keerthana Pandian.

This triumph marks a significant turnaround for Chawla, who was the runner-up in the 2017 edition of the tournament.

The 45-year-old faced an early setback, dropping the first two frames to Iqbal (23-47, 18-47).

However, demonstrating remarkable resilience, Chawla staged a stellar comeback, winning six consecutive frames (71-0, 41-7, 64-0, 43-0, 33-20, 36-29) to seal his victory.

His path to the final included a stunning semifinal win over Germany’s Richard Wienold, where he triumphed in the decider on a black ball, leaving the outcome uncertain until the final shot was pocketed.

Malkeet Singh clinched the bronze in the same category after losing his semifinal to 0-6 to Iqbal earlier in the day.

In the women’s category, India’s Vidya was unable to defend her title, finishing with a bronze medal after a hard-fought semifinal loss to Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, with the scoreline at 2-4.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Pandian also settled for bronze, falling 0-4 to Fong Mei Mei of Hong Kong in her semifinal match.