Advani enters National Snooker semis

Indian ace cueist Pankaj Advani overcame a minor blip en route to the semifinals, while unheralded Delhi lad Varun Madan continued his giantkilling run to also make it to the last-four of the Senior National Snooker Championship at the Bengal Rowing Club, here today.
The 12-time world champion overcame a first frame deficit to post unfinished break of 143 in the second en route to a 5-2 win against Railways' Faisal Khan who had shocked former Asian champion Alok Kumar last night.
In his bid for a fourth double, the 29-year-old Advani, who had already won the billiards title, will face Dharminder Lily in the last-four encounter later in the day.

But the highlight of the quarters was, 24-year-old qualifier Varun who ousted India No.2 and second seed Kamal Chawla 5-3 in another thrilling finish.
The Delhi lad had snatched a win from the jaws of defeat against local challenger Birjesh Damani in the quarters last night.
Varun will lock horns with Manan Chandra in the other semis.
Chandra turned the tables on Devendra Joshi 5-2 while Lily thrashed Shahbaaz Adil Khan 5-0 in the other two quarters this morning.