Mumbai, Jan 3 (IANS): Amanullah Shaikh of Andhra Pradesh showed steely nerves as he recorded to score a nail-biting 4-3 victory against home challenger Ajinkya Yelve in a second-round match of the Rs 13 lakh prize-money NSCI All India Snooker Open 2023, here on Tuesday.
In a tournament that has the likes of Asian Games medallist Rafat Habib and Devendra Joshi, Shaikh took the spotlight on Tuesday as he hit form at the opportune moment to win 58-45, 9-85, 72-38, 62-49, 9-61, 29-58, 62-58 against Yelve at the NSCI billiards hall in the afternoon.
Later, in the evening, Nikhil Saigal, after a hesitant start, came into his own and pulled off a 4-2 (45-35, 55-22, 29-64, 61-45, 67-11, 59-7) win against Sukeel Venkatramani in a second round qualifying match.
Both Shaikh and Saigal have now qualified among the 32- players for the main draw and will be joined by 32 leading Indian players who have received direct entries to the final round of the tournament.
In first-round encounters, seasoned cueist Mahesh Jagdale blanked Mitesh Thakkar coasting to a 3-0 (73-51, 54-50, 61-23) win and home cueist Shubhojit 'Tobu' Roy also enjoyed an easy outing defeating Anil Sagar by an identical 3-0 (51-5, 63-60, 61-22) frame scores.
In a keenly-contest match, Gaurav Prabhu worked hard to overcome Vivek Narayan 3-2 (8-74, 19-68, 40-35, 59-45, 59-56) and Anant Mehta defeated Karan Chugh 3-1 (66-2, 4-51, 69-22, 65-37) to advance to the second round.
Results -- Round 1: Gaurav Prabhu beat Vivek Narayan 3-2 (8-74, 19-68, 40-35, 59-45, 59-56); Vivek Shah beat Vishesh Sahgal 3-0 (81-8, 58-38, 77-27); Amanullah Shaikh beat Sharad Sharma 3-0 (56-22, 78-0, 74-1); Vinay Swaminathan beast Bhavesh Jain 3-0 (54-52, 71-69, 70-31); Jay Shroff beat Raul Shaikh 3-1 (46-6, 51-14, 48-53, 69-1); Mahesh Jagdale beat Mitesh Thakkar 3-0 (73-51, 54-50, 61-23); Anant Mehta beat Karan Chugh 3-1 (66-2, 4-51, 69-22, 65-37); Shubhojit Roy beat Anil Sagar 3-0 (51-5, 63-60, 61-22).
Round 2: Amanullah Shaikh (Tel) beat Ajinkya Yelve 4-3 (58-45, 9-85, 72-38, 62-49, 9-61, 29-58, 62-58); Nikhil Saigal beat Sukeel Venkatramani 4-2 (45-35, 55-22, 29-64, 61-45, 67-11, 59-7).