Pankaj beats Slessor 4-0 at Indian Open

Hyderabad: Indian star Pankaj Advani kept the home interest alive with a comprehensive win over Elliot Slessor at the Indian Open Snooker Championship being played at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre here on Wednesday.

The multiple billiards world champion contained his opponent to just 31 points on way to an emphatic 4-0 victory in the world ranking tournament. Pankaj blew the Englishman off the table 60-22, 69-1, 72-0, 65-8.

Pankaj is now the lone Indian in fray after Dilip Kumar lost 0-4 to Marco Fu of Hong Kong. Fu engineered brilliant breaks to emerge a 85 (81)-0, 62-2, 64-55, 104 (104)-1 victor.

Meanwhile, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy too secured places in the second round. Breaks of 65, 46 and 44 fashioned the 2005 World Champion Murphy’s 4-1 win over Daniel Wells. He now faces Michael Georgiou on Thursday.

Williams overcame illness problems to see off China’s Zhang Yong. After a tight opening few frames, the Welshman led 2-1, from there he produced breaks of 60 and 67 to see himself through with a 4-1 victory.

Nigel Bond, the 1995 world finalist, produced the shock of the morning with a fantastic 4-1 win over world number eight Ricky Walden. The Englishman completed the victory in style with a run of 106 in the final frame of the match.

The Results
First round: Pankaj Advani (India) bt Elliot Slessor (England) 4-0 (60-22, 69-1, 72-0, 65-8); Mark Davis (England) bt Robin Hull (Finland) 4-3 (78 (62)-0, 51-68, 84-0, 119 (63)-1, 59-71 (56), 1-124 (124), 74 (73)-25); Dominic Dale (Wales) bt Ishpreet Chadha (India) 4-2 (51-84 (84), 89-26, 73-33, 69-38, 0-97 (73), 123 (57, 64)-0); David Lilley (England) bt Mike Dunn (England) 4-2 (75-8, 66-12, 59-13, 54-65, 16-69 (56), 99 (80)-35); Nigel Bond (England) bt Ricky Walden (England) 4-1 (66-16, 65-23, 41-66, 71-14, 110 (106)-0); Shaun Murphy (England) bt Daniel Wells (Wales) 4-1 (65-3 68-1, 64-35, 29-62, 81-27); Gary Wilson (England) bt Zhao Xingtong (China) 4-1 (65-47, 84-31, 48-59, 88 (58)-15, 79-43); Mark Williams (Wales) bt Zhang Yong (China) 4-1 (55-44, 57-37, 48-59, 68 (60)-1, 80(67)-0); Sam Baird (England) bt Jack Lisowski (England) 4-3 (40-48, 22-79, 93-0, 78-56, 76 (76)-34, 21-71, 82 (82)-0); Anthony Hamilton (England) bt Eden Sharav (Scotland) 4-3 (5-82, 108 (92)-0, 75(51)-48, 4-84, 49-58, 80 (80)-0, 69-1); John J Astley (England) bt Ryan Day (Wales) 4-3 (120 (91)-9, 50-76, 1-83 (83), 88 (88)-15, 0-137 (137), 79-71, 90 (90)-0); Mathew Selt (England) bt David Grace (England) 4-2 (17-74, 49-64, 100 (100)-0, 65-59 (59), 68 -24, 84-41); Peter Edbon (England) bt Zhou Yuelong (China) 4-1 (6-83, 72-4, 69 (61)-22, 76-41, 73-33); Marco Fu (Hong Kong) bt Dilip Kumar (India) 4-0 (85 (81)-0, 62-2, 64-55, 104 (104)-1); Stephen Maguire (Scotland) bt Alfie Burden (England) 4-0 (87 (52)-0, 92(69)-7, 71-28, 85-48).

Irish snooker player gets 15-month ban for ’fixing
An Irish snooker player has been suspended for 15 months for making a deliberate foul during a qualifying match for the World Championship this year.

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association said on Wednesday that Leo Fernandez admitted to a breach of anti-corruption regulations. The governing body said Fernandez made the deliberate foul in the first frame of his match against Gary Wilson on April 6 “for other persons to make money through betting.”

Fernandez cannot play again before August 27 next year and must pay costs of £2,000. The 40-year-old Fernandez qualified to play on the main tour this season, having been an intermittent presence on tour since 2007.