Multiple world champion Pankaj Advani of Bengaluru defeated Mumbai’s Nitesh Madaan 6-4 in a best-of-11-frame quarterfinal at the CCI Snooker Classic. Advani, India’s most illustrious player with 27 world titles, defeated Madaan in a thrilling last-eight match in the CCI’s Sir Wilson Jones Billiards Hall with scores of 61-51, 78-8, 75-2, 57-68, 4-61, 15-71, 89-9, 108-9, 54-65, and 102-0.
In the semifinals, defending champion Advani will face Bombay Gymkhana’s Laxman Rawat, the lone local challenger who battled hard to defeat a determined Pushinder Singh 6-5 (68-66, 70-33, 28-81, 80-23, 54-82, 50-53, 40-73, 23-68, 83-39, 71-36, and 85-0) in a nerve-racking quarterfinal.
Advani came from behind to win the opening frame. Madaan, who also practices at the Bombay Gymkhana, rolled in a 50, but Advani responded with a 54 to take the first frame.
Advani then made breaks of 78 and 50 to win the next two games to take a commanding 3-0 lead.