Kobnak stuns Daver to storm into snooker third round

Mumbai, Aug 7 (UNI) P J Hindu Gymkhana marker Ajit Kobnak stunned formidable Jatinder Daver 2-1 to storm into the third round of snooker in the Kotak Mahindra Bank-Wilson Jones Open Handicap Billiards&Snooker Championship at the P J Hindu Gymkhana here today.

Enjoying a handicap of +60, Kobnak put behind the loss of the second frame to romp to an impressive 98-68, 84-103, 103-65 win on an exciting day of billiards and snooker action that saw a slew of upsets in both categories.

Kobnak took an early lead in the opening frame and sustained the pressure to snatch a crucial 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three frames tie. But he allowed Daver (+25) to get back into the match after enduring a blue in-off in the second frame. Kobnak then regained his composure to surge ahead early in the third and deciding frame and never looked back.

Kobnak set the trend for more upsets as Rahul Narang (+60) of North Indian Association shocked CCI's Hitesh Kotwani (+40) 2-1, Iqbal Khakhu (+60) of Islam Gymkhana stunned Mumbai Port Trust's Sandeep Pednekar (+55) 2-0 and Kunal Rokade (+60) upset CCI's Gautam Jagtiani (+55) 2-1.

In billiards, Islam Gymkhana's Haji Usman (+90) enjoyed a rewarding day, as he shocked fancied Dipendra Pinyar (+60) with a crushing 200-138 first round win, that included a significant break of 49, and later overcame P J Hindu Gymkhana's Chetan Hemadi (+90) 200-179 in the second round.

In other first round upsets, P J Hindu Gymkhana's Kirit Rayani (+80) shocked formidable Rovin D'Souza (+40) 200-144, while Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana's Luise Fernandes (+90) overcame P J Hindu Gymkhana's Viraf Bhesaria (+80) 200-181.

Results: Snooker: 2nd Rd: Sandeep Teli (+60) bt Zaheer Ratansi (+60) 119-105, 99-112, 122-88; Ajit Kobnak (+60) bt Jatinder Daver (+25) 98-68, 84-103, 103-65; Kaizad Dandiwala (+55) bt G.D. Rane (+55) 105-90, 129-83; Mitul Parekh (+60) bt Milind Divekar (+60) 102-100, 100-108, 114-71; Kunal Rokade (+60) bt Gautam Jagtiani (+55) 115-99, 116-120, 116-99; Rahul Narang (+60) bt Hitesh Kotwani (+40) 115-80, 98-116, 124-111; Iqbal Khakhu (+60) bt Sandeep Pednekar (+55) 103-89, 122-77.

1st Rd: Mayank Shah (+60) bt Manoj Mayekar (+55) 101-86, 109-102; Dipendra Pinyar bt Harjeet Sahani (+60) 117-78, 100-75; Amit Sapru (+50) bt Ankit Thakkar (+60) 111-82, 118-79; Zulfikar Sarla (+55) bt Vishnu Shirpurkar (+55) 103-86, 105-99; Manjit Singh (+55) bt Jamshed Daruwala (+60) 102-91, 122-110.

Billiards: 2nd Rd: Haji Usman (+90) bt Chetan Hemadi (+90) 200-179.

1st Rd: Prakash Rajani (+60) bt Satbir Narula (+90) 200-166; Haji Usman (+90) bt Dipendra Pinyar (+60) 200-138; Aditya Agrawal (+30) bt Manjeet Sahani (+60) 200-177; Alex D'Cruz (+80) bt Reza Merchant (+90) 200-157; Kirit Rayani (+80) bt Rovin D'Souza (+40) 200-144; Amit Saboo (-10) bt Mohan Shetty (+90) 200-190; Luise Fernandes (+90) bt Viraf Bhesaria (+80) 200-181.

UNI