Devendra Joshi displayed solid grit and determination to score a facile 7-2 victory over Sarang Shroff in the final and win Rs. One million NSCI all-India snooker championships at the Princess Hall of the National Sports Club of India on Saturday.
The 17-56, 55-46, 62-46, 76-27, 28-67, 70-19, 69-29, 65-20, 67-60 victory made Joshi richer by Rs 60,000.
Joshi, a billiardier, who made a late appearance in the tournament on account of his engagements in the World Pro Billiards championship in Malta, where he made the semi-finals, was not expected to create a flutter in the tournament, considering the presence of some of snooker's big names, like Yasin Merchant and National champion Pankaj Advani. However, he made steady progress to the final, and against Shroff displayed a touch that only comes from a player who is in top form. Though he never rifled in the big breaks -- his best was a 41 in the eighth frame -- there was no doubting his superiority.
Shroff won the first frame and sent a buzz through the packed hall. However, it soon died down as Joshi raced to a 3-1 lead in a jiffy, potting breaks of 37, 37 and 39. Though Shroff managed to pull one back, winning the fifth frame, he never displayed the body language of a true challenger.
Joshi took the sixth frame with a break of 40 and followed it up with breaks of 41 and 37 to sit pretty with a 6-2 lead and one frame away from victory.
However, there was still some effort needed from him as Shroff decided give the home crowd something to cheer about when he compiled a break of 37 to open up a 60-31 lead and look good to clinch the frame as only four colours were left on the table. However, a snooker by Joshi on the brown, which saw the cue ball stuck behind the pink, proved Shroff's downfall. He missed the brown and struck the black, giving Joshi seven away points and a chance to clear the colours and tie the score at 60-60.
In the black ball finish, Shroff proved wanting once again, setting up an easy pot for Joshi in the centre pocket.
Shroff had to be content with the runners-up purse of Rs 40,000, besides which he also won Rs 5,000 for the highest break of 116.
Results: (seedings in brackets):
Final: 9-Devendra Joshi (Mah) bt 10-Sarang Shroff (Mah) 7-2 (17-56, 55-46, 62-46, 76-27, 28-67, 70-19, 69-29, 65-20, 67-60).