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Legendary Indian cueist, Pankaj Advani, whose name has become synonymous to the word ‘victory’, clinched his 17th world title on Sunday by easily getting the better of his arch-rival Mike Russell of England in the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Doha.
Advani beat Russell 6-2 (0-155, 150-128, 92-151, 151-0, 151-6, 151-0, 150-58, 150-21) to defend the 150-up format title he had won in Bengaluru last year.
Advani, who now has 13 Billiards World titles apart from four Snooker crowns, started off on a negative note in the best-of-11 final, as Russell drew first blood with a well-crafted break of 155.
Advani fought back immediately in the next frame but then Russell won the third. However, the Indian stepped up his game after that and won the next five frames to clinch the title. Once he got in the groove, he made it look really simple and nullified Russell’s challenge with ease.
Incidentally, the Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee, is the only Indian to win 17 world titles in any sport played around the world. Well, that’s no mean feat.
The dedicated fans were overwhelmed by this feat and poured their hearts out on Twitter to congratulate the genius. While some voiced their opinions about the fact that Advani doesn’t get the his due respect even after achieving so much in his sport, others were simply proud that an Indian continues to dominate a game for such a long time.
Here’s a look at some of the reactions:
