Sameer towers over Jaideep

B D Narayankar

bapun@sakalherald.com

PUNE: Sameer Sheikh was guaranteed a runaway victory at PGI snooker championship here on Friday even before the ball was potted. For, when he went all guns blazing for glory, he found himself up relishing the rare moment of winning 61-break points, highest so far in the tournament.

Sameer proved too good for his rival Jaideep Deshpande, belting him to submission winning 62-28 and 67-26 in straight sets. “I did not have much to display. I had it easy. Never did I feel let down even by my mistakes. Soon I capitalised on them by playing a focused game,” Sameer told the Herald after winning the match.

In both the frames, Sameer endured good initial breaks suiting his style, that catapulted his confidence to a different level. Soon he was seen potting the pinks, reds, blacks and greens with great precision. “I felt I was not pushing the cue through my fingers, but slithering a magical wand. I enjoyed my game thoroughly and winning 61-break points was something amazing,” Sameer said with elation.

Sameer opened his first frame in great style taking a lead of 30 points early on. Never did he allow Jaideep to give him snookers. “I gave a couple of snookers that squeezed confidence out of him. I took full advantage of his mistakes, pocketing vital points at regular intervals of the match,” Sameer said.

The second frame too was a calkwalk for Sameer. He outclassed his rival in tactics and potting. “I did not relish the game when there was no competition coming from Jaideep. I thoroughly enjoyed fortifying my position with solid breaks,” he said.

In yet another match, Aditya Hoole defeated Sabi D’Souza springing from the depths in the second frame winning 56-28, 28-57, 59-4.After handing out a crushing 56-28 defeat in the first frame, Aditya went pale in the second, tasting defeat 28-57. “This woke my spirits up. I was soon teeming with confidence and pulverised Sabi with an unbelievable scoreline of 59-4 in the deciding frame,” Aditya said.

In yet another match, Divesh Inamdar drubbed Colonel Sancez 62-63, 54-44, 56-22. After undergoing harrowing experience in the first frame, Divesh romped home in the second. The final frame was even easier for him to finish off his rival with a huge margin.

RESULTS: Snooker: Sameer Sheikh bt Jaideep Deshpande 62-28, 67-26; Divesh Inamdar bt Colonel Sancez 62-63, 54-44, 56-22; Aditya Hoole bt Sabi D’Souza 56-28, 28-57, 59-4; Rishi Ramaiah bt Abhishek Deshmukh 65-43, 74-21.