Faisal Khan wins SBA Open Snooker Championship

Faisal Khan

Faisal Khan dominated from the start as he demolished Asian Championships bronze medallist Kamal Chawla 6-1 (52-20, 87-19, 88-26, 75-63, 64-16, 48-73, 63-10) in the final of the SBA Open-cum-Invitational Snooker Championships in less than three hours.

“It came as a surprise to me because Kamal made far too many errors and I cashed in on those chances. It was a sweet victory because I had lost to Kamal in Mumbai the last time we met in a final there,” said Khan, the Delhi-based Railways employee.

Khan got off to a terrific start and it took Chawla sixth frame to make an impact in the match.

Both the players started on a cautious note, but Khan decided to turn on the aggression as he took a big break of 47 points in the second frame.

He was relentless in the third frame taking a lead of 49 points to go 3-0 up. Things got tighter in the fourth frame as both players missed a few chances to capitalize.

Khan eventually won it 75-63. Khan was not letting Chawla into the match as he thrashed him 64-16 in the fifth frame.

Khan was one frame away from the title. Chawla decided to turn the tables on Khan as he won 55 points on the trot and took the frame 73-48.

Khan put the sixth frame out of his mind as he took the seventh frame 63-10.

Chawla acknowledged Khan’s dominance and admitted that a better man won.

“He was superb today. I couldn’t find answers to his attacking game.I wish I had continued with my semifinal form,” Chawla said.

Khan took home Rs. 1.5 lakh while Chawla was awarded Rs. 50,000 for coming second.