Published>Fri, Aug 27 10 05:37 AM
Peter Gilchrist had suffered an upset defeat to Dhruv Sitwala on Wednesday. On Thursday, he had his revenge, getting past the Indian to book a semi-final spot in the World Billiards Championships (time format).
The victory was all the more sweeter since he had almost decided to skip the event. His doctor in Singapore had advised Gilchrist not to participate in the competition owing to a kidney infection, but that was not to be.
"My love for billiards and some coaxing on the part of my mate ? Mike (Russell) ? helped me make my decision. Sometimes, you're just supposed to ignore the doctors' advice and I'm glad it paid off", Gilchrist told The Indian Express after the win. Gilchrist has been off medication for the competition since it induces fever and he wants nothing to come in the way of his game.
Gilchrist edged past Sitwala 851-831 in the tough quarterfinal encounter that saw both players take lead by tunrs. Gilchrist started with a break of 205 and followed it up with a 268, but Sitwala bounced back soon after.
He had a break of 109 in the early visit, then posted 316 and added 118 and 93 to take a 120-point lead before losing out on time. Gilchrist took the opportunity and went about utilising the remaining time by posting an unfinished break of 145. "I was lucky today, especially when I got my chance towards the end. I didn't deserve to lose today and neither did he but I just couldn't afford to", said the Singaporean.
He still feels he has something saved up for the big match and hopes to unleash a storm in the semifinal. "I still feel I have a big break in me somewhere" he said. Gilchrist will take on India's Geet Sethi in the semifinal, who was at his immaculate best in shutting out Ashok Shandilya 1658-455 with three double century breaks.
The other semifinal will see a rematch of the points format final, with defending champion Pankaj Advani looking to avenge his loss against Englishman Mike Russell. Advani fired an unfinished break of 709 to post an impressive quarterfinal win against compatriot Rupesh Shah after both cueists began cautiously.
Rupesh was on a high after scoring breaks of 121, 75, 97 and 163 early on as the two moved neck-and-neck before Advani produced his memorable break. Down by 114 points, he got into his groove showing impeccable ball control and understanding of the roll of green baize on table 5. "The break had come at the right time and I hope it will help me in the next match," said Advani after beating Rupesh 1279-684.
On an adjacent table, Russell reeled out a break of 633, but otherwise seemed to take his quarterfinals tie against Maynmar's Kyaw Oo easy before winning 1127-850. Russell began with a break of 231 before the six-tonner came.
Results (Quarter-finals)
Geet Sethi (Ind) bt Ashok Shandilya (Ind) 1658--455; Peter Gilchrist (Sin) bt Dhruv Sitwala (Ind) 851-831; Mike Russell (Eng) bt Kyaw Oo (Mya) 1127-850; Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Rupesh Shah (Ind) 1279-684.
Source: Web Search
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