Billiards: Top cueists for PSPB championship

Country's top billiards and snooker players, led by 12-time World champion Pankaj Advani, will be seen in action in the 11th Petroleum Sports Promotion Board's (PSPB) inter-unit tournament commencing here Tuesday.

Advani, the 29-year old from Bengaluru, said at a media conference here Monday that the competition in the six-day tournament which concludes Sunday, would be very close since virtually every top player is employed with any one of the six PSPB units that will be competing.

The teams include sponsors GAIL (India) Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Ltd and the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.

In the fray, besides Advani, are the likes of Alok Kumar, Brijesh Damani, Manan Chandra, Dhruv Sitwala and Devendra Joshi, all of whom have won national and international honours.

"Given the quality of the field, I expect a highly competitive tournament and it is also an opportunity to express our gratitude to our employers by putting up a good performance," said Advani who will be representing ONGC.

The tournament will comprise a team championship (best of seven frames in snooker and 600-up in billiards) and individual events.

In a statement, Prabhat Singh, Director (Marketing), GIAL, said: "GAIL is a brand associated with energy, youthfulness and growth. We are India's youngest 'Maharatna' company and are taking the strides of various challenges in a good speed.

"We aspire to continue the quest of unearthing country's best sports talents and have taken number of initiatives to promote them. Participation in PSPB tournaments is one such crucial platform."