Asian Billiards Championship: Sitwala wins battle of best friends with Advani in Riyadh

Dhruv Sitwala with the Asian Billiards Championship winners trophy

Reigning national billiards champion Dhruv Sitwala defeated compatriot Pankaj Advani 5-2 in the 100-up best-of-nine-frame final to clinch his third Asian title, at the SABSF Academy, Riyadh on Friday. The Mumbai cueist said the feeling of defeating a legend, who has 27 world titles to his name, is surely memorable.

Interestingly, at the billiards Nationals last December, he defeated Advani in the semi-finals 5-3. "Pankaj and I are best friends. We share rooms on tours, travel together, go out for dinner during trips. We even travelled together from Riyadh to Mumbai and then Pankaj took a flight for Bangalore. But defeating him is memorable considering he is a legend of the game. It is a great feeling when you defeat the best in any sport. I had even defeated Pankaj in the 2015 Asian Billiards," Sitwala, 51, told www.mid-day.com after landing in Mumbai from Riyadh on Saturday.

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Meanwhile, Sitwala indicated that though there is no shortage of competitive spirit when they face each other, there is no bitterness to their clashes. "It's not vindictive and with vengeance, as he is more like a brother and a family friend. Also, both families know each other and my mother is very fond of Pankaj. Having said that, the win means a lot to me personally as such moments don't come very often. I have been training rigorously for more than a year not just for this tournament but generally building up my own game. I always feel that if you sweat more in training, you will bleed less in war. So, I am satisfied that my hard work has paid off," remarked Sitwala, who won Asian Billiards titles in 2015 and 2016.