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Ludhiana: Nitin stuns Shrikrishna, Advani powers into finals at pool championship
The junior boys 9-Ball double elimination stage saw a mix of close contests and dominant wins, underlining the depth of young talent
ludhiana@hindustantimes.com
The Manisha National Pool Championship 2026 witnessed a packed and exciting day on Monday, with the Men’s 9-Ball semi-finals, where Nitin Sharma produced a sensational comeback, recovering from a 1–6 deficit to defeat S Shrikrishna 11–10 in a nail-biting finish. In the other semi-final, Pankaj Advani continued his dominant run, beating Kushal Chandrashekhar 11–5 with ease. With the finalists now decided, the championship heads towards an exciting finish, while the junior and 10-Ball events continue to gather momentum.
The junior boys 9-Ball double elimination stage saw a mix of close contests and dominant wins, underlining the depth of young talent. Several matches went down to the wire, with Shiny Verma of Punjab, Swarit Sharma of Delhi and Aaron Goyal of Punjab all registering narrow 5–4 victories. Manan Grover, Saksham Jain and Krishraj Sethi also advanced after tight finishes. At the same time, players like Laksh Sharma, Rehan Misra and Abdul Saif stamped their authority with 5–0 wins, while Yuvraj Singh and Laxminarayan also recorded clean sweeps, showcasing their control and confidence.
In the under-21 girls category, Jia Sehgal emerged as one of the standout performers. She entered the semi-finals after a remarkable run, including a thrilling 4–3 win over former junior world snooker champion Natasha Chethan. From the other group, Sanvi Shah also secured her semi-final spot with steady 4–2 wins.
Meanwhile, the Men’s 10-Ball National Championship began with dominant performances in the early rounds. Players such as Daksh Reddy, Sheetal Varma, Joy Mehra and Dhruv Varma registered convincing 6–0 wins. Strong performances were also seen from Adarsh Verma, Saqlain Mushtaque, Sameer Bhalla and Namit Sharma, indicating a highly competitive field in the new format.
