Manan downs Geet for title

Manan Chandra overcame Geet Sethi 5-2 in an absorbing final to clinch the inaugural Nahar Group-MIG All India Invitation Snooker Championship at the MIG Club, in Bandra, Mumbai, on a rain-soaked Saturday.

In a best-of-nine frames championship round, Chandra beat back Sethi's challenge midway to race to a 73-0, 65-44, 67-33, 27-64, 16-72, 100-23, 64-51 victory.

Chandra got off to a dream start when he fired a break of 73 in the opening frame that immediately put him into the groove. He then took the formidable Sethi by surprise as he raced to a 3-0 lead.

But the seasoned campaigner that he is, Sethi ignored the early deficit to get right back into the match. He used his vast experience and a repertoire of shots to snatch the fourth and fifth frames, which included a break of 71 in the latter, to warn his opponent.

Sethi had the opportunity to make it 3-all and even surge to a 4-3 advantage but he missed easy shots that offered Chandra the chance to get away.

Earlier, in the semi-finals, Sethi demolished Asian runner-up Yasin Merchant 4-0, while Chandra recovered from a 0-2 deficit to overcome India junior star Aditya Mehta 4-2.

Manan Chandra received Rs. 60,000, while Geet Sethi earned Rs. 35,000.

In addition, the semi-finalists received Rs. 20,000, the quarter-finalists Rs. 11,000 and the non-qualifiers for the knock out Rs. 7,000.

Results:

Final: Manan Chandra (PSPB) bt Geet Sethi (Guj) 73(73)-0, 65-44, 67-33, 27-64, 16-72(71), 100-23, 64-51.

Semi-finals: Geet Sethi bt Yasin Merchant (Mumbai) 82-46, 85(68unf)-34, 72(68unf)-39, 69-29; Manan Chandra bt Aditya Mehta (Mumbai) 46-55, 39-86, 61-51, 66-5, 60-45, 75(75)-23.