Senthil edges out Imran

Chennai: M. Senthil of Madurai edged out MRC’s Imranganj 70-29, 57-61, 7016, 68-38, 58-61, 46-25 in the final of the Artistic state ranking snooker tournament here on Tuesday. It was a fitting finale to a well-organised event as the contestants didn’t give up until the end.

There was no let-up in intensity from the moment Imran broke first. Both the players opted to play it safe early on.

Two scoring visits gave Senthil a much-needed lead and Imran conceded the first frame. Imran showed some glimpses of form when he pocketed the second that went down to the black.

Senthil came back strongly in the third by taking advantage of an early opportunity after Imran had failed to pot reds from relatively easy angles.

Imran made a solid start in the next frame only to be done in by another simple mistake with red. An in-off further dented his chance and Senthil played steadily to go 3-1.

Even though the MRC player delayed the inevitable by taking a close fifth, Senthil didn't have any problem in pock eting the next and the match. Current India no. 7 Varun Kumar said Senthil’s composure paid him dividends. “The champion also grabbed his chances today and it made a difference,” he added.

Senthil, too, said his confidence was critical to the result. “I lost to Imran in the league 1-3, but I was determined to win this time,” he added. “I was frustrated after missing the pink in the fifth and thereby an opportunity to wrap up the match quickly. But that’s how this game is. A miss never goes unpunished,” said Senthil. Deccan Chronicle resident editor R. Mohan gave away the prizes.