Carlow (Ireland), Apr 25 (PTI) Reigning champion Sourav Kothari survived a scare before beating Hwang Chulho in his opening match of the IBSF World Billiards Championship that got underway here on Saturday.
The Indian ace overcame South Korea’s Chulho 305-238 after being down by over 120-odd points with about 30 minutes to go.
Kothari, also the reigning national champion, came up with a crucial break of 111 to put it past the tricky Korean.
The 41-year-old will look to make amends in his next match against France’s Akhilesh Mohan.
There were no hiccups for most of the other Indian contenders in action on the opening day.
Former champion Pankaj Advani’s runaway 1003-54 win over Michael Crook of Isle of Man was the highlight of the day. Advani floored his rival with a barrage of breaks, runs of 198, 297 and 117 flowed from his cue.
The 40-year-old Bengalurean reduced his senior opponent to a mere spectator in the 90-minute affair.
Dhruv Sitwala, looking for his maiden world title, began his campaign with a workmanlike 645-115 win over Carl-Walter Steiner of Austria in a Group ‘C’ match.
The southpaw, runner up four times, began with a fluent break of 286 early in the game, and had further runs of 101 and 101 in his crushing victory.
Seasoned Alok Kumar scored a lopsided 502-202 win over Aonghus McAnally of Ireland in another Group ‘C’ match. PTI UNG PDS
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