Manan and Pankaj make bright start

BANGALORE: The world under-21 snooker championship got underway at the Karnataka State Billiards Association hall in Bangalore on Sunday with promising Indian stars Manan Chandra and Pankaj Advani winning their opening round matches without any hiccups whatsoever. While the precocious Pankaj simply trampled the hapless Sri Lankan youngster Tavinne de Croos 4-0, Manan was equally harsh as as he disposed of Egyptian Mustafa Ali Atta by an identical margin.Speaking to The Times of India after his match, Manan confirmed that he played well within himself. ``I was just getting used to the atmosphere and hope to play a better game when I take on Mohammed Al Sada of Qatar on Monday. I am sure I can improve on my breaks,'''' said the 20-year-old losing semi-finalist of last year''s junior world snooker championship in Egypt. And indeed he can improve on his highest break of 41 on this day which he secured in the third frame as he cleared the table. A little more concentration at the crucial moment should do the trick. Though Indian fans were rejoicing at the performance of a couple of their leading lights, what was a little perturbing was the fact that neither have been seeded in the top eight. Even the most die-hard supporter of the game from down-under may accept the fact that third seed Ian Barber of Australia, who heads the Group C seedings, is a notch or two below the class of Chandra who is playing in the same group. Secretary-cum-treasurer of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, Gloria Ruane, was quick to explain that seedings at the round-robin stage was not very important. ``The seeding committee will once again seed the 32 players who make it to the knock-out stage after the round-robin matches have been concluded. As Rishab Thukral is the Indian national champion, he is the only one who finds a place in the top eight seedings at present'''', she said. Meanwhile, top-seed Robert Murphy of Ireland, left none in doubt about his prowess with the cue. Murphy, who turns 21 on India''s Independence Day, whipped his rival Khor Tat Siong of Malaysia `black and blue'', in four straight frames, earlier in the day. The Irishman used the black and blue balls to devastating effect as he registered the first century break (112) of the tournament on his second visit to the table in his third frame. Another who notched up a century break was Tommy Ang of Singapore, who got the better of Ahmed A. Md. Khalifa of of UAE 4-2. After dropping the first two frames 38-67, 45-56, Tommy came back strongly to bag the next four 55-25, 52-15, 100-9, 61-9.