NEW DELHI: Cueist Ranveer Duggal held his nerves to edge past compatriot Dhruv Patil from Gujarat 4-3 to win his maiden sub-junior national snooker title at the SAGE University in Bhopal.
He emerged victorious 84-33 54-34 22-58 15-79 51-56 76-18 55-48 in the best-of-seven-frames final.
The Chandigarh lad studying in St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, Ranveer came out triumphs in a battle that lasted over three hours, with the match stretching to the decider.
In the summit clash, Ranveer pocketed the first two frames before Dhruv rallied to win the next two to make the contest 2-all. Dhruv edged ahead after potting the black ball in the fifth frame to lead 3-2.
In a see-saw contest, Ranveer again showcased his mastery over green baize to draw level at 3-all after securing the sixth frame. In the decider, both the cueists were levelled at 48-all on points when Ranveer decisively pocketed the black ball to win the match and the title.
Ranveer, who had lost in the semifinals of the recently-concluded Amit Sharma memorial SBA Open 6-Red Snooker championships here, dedicated his title triumph to his late father Sandeep Duggal, who had died of fungal infection in 2015.
“This victory will certainly boost my confidence to do a lot better in the future tournaments,” added Ranveer, who is also a bronze medallist at the U-16 World Snooker Championships held in Russia’s Tyumen in 2019.
Former Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) vice-president, Ravi Tandon, said that Ranveer has the potential to become a great cue sport player if nurtured well. “He will be one of our medal hopes at the Doha Asian Games,” added Tandon.
Cue sports has been included as a competitive discipline at the Doha Asiad. Ranveer trains under his grandfather Rakesh Duggal.
