SPG-Park Club Billiards Tournament: Surve, Jambusaria in final

Dark horse Shekhar Surve and last year’s runner-up Rohan Jambusaria registered contrasting wins to set up a title clash, in the SPG-Park Club Open Billiards Handicap Tournament on Sunday.

While Surve of Shivaji Park Gymkhana eased past Park Club’s Sanjiv Bijlani 375-207 that included a break of 52, Jambusaria of Mandpeshwar Civic Federation, Borivali upset Kabil Badami of Bombay Gymkhana 375-369 in a nail-biter.

Playing with a -95 handicap, giant-killer Jambusaria, who shocked India junior No. 1 Dhvaj Haria of Ahmedabad in the pre-quarter-finals, was rewarded for patience while playing under immense pressure against a determined Badami, who had a -35 handicap, in a semi-final contest that had all the thrills of handicap billiards.

It was a neck-and-neck battle that could have gone either way until Jambusaria inched one step closer to making amends for losing the final to Park Club’s Amit Sapru in 2012 by snatching the match by just six points in a tight finish.

“I was nervous in the end. Kabil kept me under pressure right through. I have been playing fairly well (from the start of the competition) and this time too I had to just hang in there,” explained a relieved Jambusaria.

Results:

Semi-finals: Rohan Jambusaria (-95, MCF) bt Kabil Badami (-35, Bombay Gym) 375-369; Shekhar Surve (-110, SPG) bt Sanjiv Bijlani (-50, Park Club) 375(52)-207.