NEW DELHI: Five-time national champion Sundeep Gulati maintained his winning spree by clinching both the senior Billiards and 15-Red Snooker titles here. In both formats, he defeated junior national champion Avinash. The finals took place at the Baba Billiards Academy in Nirman Vihar.
In the 15-Red final, Sundeep pocketed the first frame as he didn’t miss the red ball when pink was in pocket. In the second, third and fourth frame, Avinash adopted safety tactics which was not enough to salvage the final. He did lead 44-13 in the fifth frame but he missed pocketing the red which cost him the match and the title. Both Sundeep and Avinash will represent the Delhi state at the Nationals to be held later this year.
Earlier, former junior national champion Shoaib Khan won the Delhi state 6-Red snooker title when he defeated Sundeep in a rather one-sided clash.
Shoaib relied on employing safety tactics rather than playing risky shots and that approach paid rich dividends as he secured the first three frames 47-13, 44-06, 44-27. Sundeep managed to win the fourth frame but the next two frames were annexed by Shoaib. The final scoreline read 47-13, 44-06, 44-27, 20-28, 40-4, 43-12.
Also, in a reversal of fortunes, defending champion and former World Masters runner-up Anuj Uppal made an early exit from Delhi state 15-Red snooker meet when he lost to unheralded Divyanshu Sharma.
