(Photo courtesy: Pankaj Advani’s Twitter). In a pressure final against arch rival Pakistan, Manan Chandra and Pankaj Advani comprised Indian team rallied from a 0-2 deficit to claim the inaugural IBSF-ACBS World Team Snooker Cup 2018 with a 3-2 win over Pakistan’s Mohamed Asif and Babar Masih at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation (QBSF) Hall on Sunday.
Chandra was overjoyed with the performance and said. “For me it is my biggest achievement. I have never won a world title before,” Chandra was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.
“It was a tough final against Pakistan, a dream final actually, old rivals. We were 2-0 down but we managed to take it frame by frame, make small but crucial breaks, and that put pressure on them, I guess. All thanks to my partner. Both of us contributed equally in the whole tournament, and gave our best,” he said.
Pankaj Advani talked about the doubles frame, that changed the complexion of the game in favour of the Indians.
“At one stage when we were down 30 points, it was looking like 3-0, I think Manan made that 39. Babar had missed a sitter, and sometimes it requires just one opportunity. It changed in the doubles frame. That’s why the doubles frame is so crucial and that changed the momentum of the game. Had it been all singles, we would have been hammered today. I am just happy that we lifted the first edition of this World Cup, and full credit to my partner, who just pulled off two amazing deciders,” Pankaj said.
Advani is making a habit of defeating the Pakistani cueist in the recent while. He teamed up with Laxman Rawat to demolish Pakistan in the final of the Asian Team Snooker Championship last year on 5th July.
IBSF World Cup Snooker Champions 2018 ??What an awesome feeling to win it from 2-0 down against Pakistan in the final! Really enjoyed partnering with the super talented Manan Chandra- superb show mate ?? pic.twitter.com/FKTnbF64wp
— Pankaj Advani (@PankajAdvani247) March 3, 2018
