Hyderabad: Ace cueist Pankaj Advani on Tuesday moved to the main draw of the 3rd Indian Open world ranking snooker tournament following a win over world number 109 Fang Xiongman on the opening day of the championship at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre here. Breaks of 49, 40 and 66 helped him secure a 4-2 win over Xiongman. The billiards world champion will now face Elliot Slessor in the fisrt round on Wednesday.
However, the other Indians in the fray, Manan Chandra and Lucky Vatnani, suffered 1-4 defeats against Andrew Higginson and David Grace respectively. One of the day’s most enticing matches saw veterans Joe Swail and Jimmy White faceoff. Six-time world finalist White looked good to take the opening frame after a contribution of 41, however he was thwarted by a counter clearance of 81 by the ‘Outlaw’.
After levelling the match, White went 2-1 ahead thanks to a break of 91. Swail then won the next two frames to put himself on the brink of victory. The lights looked to have literally gone out on the ‘Whirlwind’ in frame six. Swail had blue, pink and black at his mercy to secure the win when a powercut halted play. The lights came back shortly after and the Northern Irishman held his nerve to seal his spot in the second round with a 4-2 victory.
