Pankaj Advani wins National 6-red Snooker title to end year on a high

Mumbai: Sixteen-time world champion Pankaj Advani ended the year on a high by bagging the National title in 6-red Snooker, the shorter format of the game.[caption id="attachment_3171424" align="alignleft" width="380"] File photo of Pankaj Advani. Getty images[/caption]With only a few days to switch to snooker after winning the IBSF World Billiards Championship (point format) in Bangalore last week, Advani proved once again why he is the absolute authority in cue sports.Starting off as the favourite for the national-level tournament, Advani lived up to expectations and reclaimed the title, which he had won during the inaugural edition in Bangalore in 2010.Advani is the only player in the world to win all titles -- National, Continental and World -- in 6-red Snooker.On his debut, the ace cueist won the IBSF World 6-red Snooker Championship in Egypt in 2014 and successfully defended it the following year.Earlier this year, he annexed his maiden Asian Snooker title, which also came in the shorter version of the sport.In the final today, Advani was up against local youngster Ishpreet Chadha. The Bangalore-based multiple world champion overcame his junior opponent 7-4 in a strong display of potting with finesse.Advani is now the strongest contender for qualifying for the Asian and World Championships in 6-red Snooker in 2017 to represent India.Result:Pankaj Advani defeated Ishpreet Chadha in the final 7-4 (40-7 0-36 55-1 23-37 45-13 40-54 49-6 41-8 6-38 53-14 38-17).