Pandu, Khizar scorch ahead in State snooker

E. Pandurangaiah, Khizar Raoof, K. Srikanth, M. Srinivas Rao and Majeed Khan routed their rivals in second round matches of the Telangana Open Snooker Championship played here on Friday.

Pandu defeated K. Venkatesh with a 3-1 verdict with the frame scores reading 90-15, 34-56, 89(89)-0, 63-43. The first frame was won by Pandu with a huge margin. However, Venkatesh bounced back in the second to pocket some points and take the frame at 56-34 and level the match. But that was about it as a presumably stung Pandu upped the intensity. He came up with an amazing break of 89 to blank his rival in the third frame to snatch the lead right back.

That sort of unsettled Venkatesh, who by now sensed that he was up against a tough opponent. The players made visits to the table in the fourth frame but Pandu continued to hold the upperhand and sealed the deal with a 20-point victory.

In another match, Khizar Raoof sealed a comfortable 3-0 (60-19, 54-32, 90-23) win over V. Vijay.

Khizar, a doctor, came up with a clinical performance that left his rival with little chance. He won the first frame with a lead of 41 points — 60-19. Khizar’s confidence kept growing as he pocketed points at will, demoralising Vijay in the process as he took the second frame easily at 54-32. Then, the surgeon finished with a flourish as he dominated the table to seal the match with a 9023 verdict in the third frame.

THE RESULTS