National 9-Ball, 8-Ball Pool Championship from Feb 15

New Delhi: Top cueists Pankaj Advani and Geet Sethi are expected to take part in the National 9-Ball and 8-Ball Pool Championship to be played from February 15 to 24 at the YMCA institute. Veteran Yasin Merchant, Rafat Habib, Manan Chandra, Alok Kumar would be among other cueists vying for the top honours at the 10-day-long event, which will carry a total prize money of over Rs 3.25 lakhs. Ladies events in both the categories will also be held simultaneously. "This will be only the second time that the city will be hosting the event since its inception in 2001 in Bangalore. A record number of entries have been received for the championship this year," Ravi Tandon, Vice-President, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), said.In 2004, the city hosted the tournament, which was won by Alok Kumar. Last year, the tournament was played in Kolkata, where Rafat Habib had won the 9-Ball pool event, while Manan Chandra emerged winner in the 8-Ball pool category. The championship would also form the basis of selection for Asian Games in November next year in China, where India is yet to open its account in the pool event."Four gold medals would be at stake during the Games and players would be shortlisted after the completion of this tournament," added Tandon. The tournament is being organised by Delhi Billiards and Snooker Association under the aegis of BSFI. PTI