Shandilya, Sethi snatch
quarter-final slots

Defending champion Geet Sethi, national champion Ashok Shandilya and young sensation Pankaj Advani were among six Indians who moved into the quarter-finals of the second Asian billiards championship in Bangalore on Friday.

Henry Boteju of Sri Lanka and U Kyaw Oo of Myanmar were the other two cueists to qualify for the last eight stage.

Other Indian cueists who made it to the quarter-finals are Devendra Joshi, Dhruv Sitwala, and Alok Kumar.

Like on Thursday, Sethi enjoyed mixed luck today too. He recorded an easy 3-0 victory over U Aung San Oo (Myanmar), winning 102-17, 100-97, 100-33 but lost to compatriot Dhruv Sitwala. Dhruv won 101-37, 7-102, 101-44, 09-100, 100-28 in the Group A league.

In Group B, Shandilya had no difficulty in getting past Glen Yeo Teck Shin of Singapore 101-32, 100-77, 101-13.

Advani, who was already assured of a place inthe quarter-finals, defeated Thek Chong Alan Puan of Singapore in the same group 102-17, 102-34, 101-2.

Following are the quarter-finalists:
Group A: Devendra Joshi, Geet Sethi, Dhruv Sitwala (all Indians) and Henry Boteju (Sri Lanka).
Group B: Alok Kumar, Ashok Shandilya, Pankaj Advani (all Indians) and U Kyaw Oo (Myanmar).

In the quarter-finals, Sethi will take on Alok Kumar while senior national champion Shandilya will play Boteju; junior national champion Pankaj Advani will play Dhruv Sitwala and Devendra Joshi will take on U Kyaw Oo of Myanmar.