Pankaj Advani’s fierce desire to win stood out in his back-to-back matches on Sunday. The 25-year-old Bangalorean went empty stomach during the final day but fought like a terrier to overcome severe pressure to get India’s first gold.
“Advani played on empty stomach for almost six and half hours from 9 am to 2.30 pm as he had no time to eat anything because of back-to-back games. During the break after the semifinal, he had just one banana. The pressure had killed his hunger,” chief coach of the billiards team Manoj Kothari revealed. And, it proved to be the ultimate test as the Myanmar opponents engaged him in a fight till the finish — Oo Kyaw Oo in the semifinal and Nay Thway in the final. Both the matches went down to the wire, with the winner being decided in the best of five frames.
Advani beat Nay Thway 33-100 100-61 12-101 101-4 100-45 in the summit clash.
Meanwhile, there was more joy as Alok Kumar became the first Indian to win an Asian Games medal in pool events by clinching bronze in the men's 8-ball category despite losing in the semifinals.
Under the rules, both the losing semifinalists are awarded a bronze each instead of playing a third-place play-off. The Indian team comprising of Yasin Merchant, Aditya Mehta and Brijesh Damani also confirmed another medal for India defeating Singapore 3-1 in quarters.
Earlier in the day, Advani beat Thway’s compatriot Oo Kyaw Oo 3-2 in the semifinals, winning 100-28 0-100 100-77 11-100 101-0.
The final was a nerve-wracking battle. Thway led 1-0, then 2-1 but Advani bounced back to draw even. In the final frame, Advani finished off the contest with an unfinished break of 36. He celebrated with clenched fists to the roar of the Indian supporters and the first thing the champion did was talk to his mother and brother in Bangalore.
Former world billiards champion Peter Gilchrist, who won the bronze medal, showered high praise on Advani: “I always thought Sethi was India’s best player. But, Advani is better.”
