Contrasting wins for Vahanvati, Bhogle
Bombay Gymkhana’s Gulham Vahanvati and Mahadev Bhogle of Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana scored contrasting second round victories in the Bombay Gymkhana Handicap Billiards Tournament at the Bombay Gym’s billiards room.
Playing with a scratch handicap, Vahanvati showed plenty of grit and determination as he staved off a strong challenge from Elphinstone CC’s Sunil Jain (-130 handicap) by a mere four points difference.
In an intense and hardfought encounter Vahanvati held his nerves towards the end, managed to scrape past Jain by a slim 200-196 points margin and book his spot in the final qualifying round.
Meanwhile in a match between equally matched cueists, the JVPG player Bhogle (-100) displayed better consistency and easily sailed past Malabar Hill Club’s Rajesh Mayavanshi (-110) by 200-108 margin of victory.
In first round matches, seasoned pros Mahesh Jagdale of Elphinstone CC and Manav Panchal of Malabar Hill Club, both playing with steep handicaps comfortably marched into the second round.
Jagdale (-230) showed excellent form and made perfect contact with the balls. He managed a break of 52 and went on to defeat Deependra Pinkyar (-70) of Shivaji Park Gymkhana 200-167. Panchal (-120) was also in complete control against Elphinstone’s Kersi Gandhi (-25) and strolled to a 200-156 win.
Bombay Gym’s Kaizad Fitter (-100) made full advantage of the home conditions and outshone Iqbal Rokadia (-35) of Elphinstone CC by cruising to a 200-72 win.