Lady Advanis, Sethis !!

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

All ye girls and ladies out there – must have heard of a queer and elitist game called snooker, or at least seen a billiards and snooker table in some clubs or five star properties ! Good news for all in Chandigarh and around. The first ever Asian snooker championships for ladies has just got off the blocks and right here at a five star property in Chandigarh on Wednesday evening.

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

If you are game, get ready to watch the action live over the next two days at the Hyatt Regency, where 16 top lady snooker players from across Asia played out their league matches on Wednesday. Thursday will witness the quarter-finals and semi-finals and the final will be played out on Friday.

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

Half of the 16 ladies participating are Indian. Among the hot favourites are Hong Kong’s On Yee who has just won the Eden World Women’s Championship for the second time. Also in contention is India’s own Vidya Pillai, whom On Yee beat 6-5 in the final on a dramatic concluding day at the Lagoon Billiard Room in Toa Payoh, Singapore.  The 26-year-old On Yee scored deciding frame victories in the semis and final to take the £5,000 top prize and regain the title she first won in 2015. Pillai had earlier seen off England’s Rebecca Granger 5-1 to become the first Indian player to reach the final.

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

“The strength of lady snooker players in India is on the upswing, and so are their playing standards. We can expect many ladies to emulate the feats of Indian male stars like Pankaj Advani, Geet Sethi and Michael Ferreira, who ruled the world snooker scene for years,” says an enthusiastic R.B. Ganesh, the chief referee for the tournament.  

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar

 

Following a recent restructure, which saw World Ladies Billiards & Snooker come under the governance of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), this was the first time in over 20 years that the most prestigious ranking event in women’s snooker was held outside of the UK. 

 

The Punjab Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) is organising the championship under the aegis of the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports and Billiards and Snooker Federation of India. The total prize money is Rs 11 lakh.

 

 

Photo By: Sumit Kumar