Advani claims top billing in knockout stage of 6-Red Snooker World C'ship

Top Indian cueist Pankaj Advani received top billing in the knockout stage of the IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship here on Wednesday. Advani, who won the 150-up format at the IBSF World Billiards Championship last week, had under a day to switch to snooker.

The 34-year-old was the only player in the championship to win all his group matches without dropping a frame. He accounted for Myat Thu of Myanmar, Michael Schnabel of Germany and Rajan Lama of Nepal in identical fashion beating them all 4-0. However, the elimination stages could pose a threat for Advani as he is likely to run into last year's finalist and a noteworthy competitor Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon of Thailand in the quarterfinals.

Other Indians in the final 32 include Anuj Uppal, Aditya Mehta, Laxnan Rawat, Kamal Chawla and Pushpender Singh.