National Masters Snooker: Khaneja beats Varun Kumar to win maiden title

Chennai: Haryana’s Rajat Khaneja won his maiden national title in the Masters Snooker category on the concluding day of the 90th National Billiards & Snooker Championships at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Monday.

Khaneja rallied to edge out Tamil Nadu’s J. Varun Kumar 4-3 in the final. He lost the first frame 31-70 but won the next 70-60. He lost the next one 13-59 but once against came back to level scores by winning the fourth frame, 62-42. The Haryana cueist eventually went on to win the final 31-70, 70-60, 13-59, 62-42, 62-52, 46-87 36-75.

“It feels good to win my first National title, but I wasn’t at my best and neither was Kumar,” he said.

In the semifinals, Kumar edged out defending champion Manan Chandra (PSPB) 4-3 and Khaneja beat Vijay Nichani (TN) 4-2.

The results:

Masters snooker (final): Rajat Khaneja (Har) bt J. Varun Kumar (TN) 4-3 (31-70, 70-60, 13-59, 62-42, 62-52, 46-87, 36-75). 3rd place: Manan Chandra (PSPB) bt Vijay Nichani (TN) 3-1 (66-50, 24-77, 63-38, 74-13). Semifinals: Kumar bt Chandra 4-3 (17-95, 36-71, 19-73, 62-21, 100-0, 67-62, 58-17); Khaneja bt Nichani 4-2 (86-37, 126-0, 10-84, 20-67, 57-49, 74-19).