Rovin takes Yasin the distance

Mumbai, May 15 (UNI) Young Rovin D'Souza of Mumbai took former Asian champion Yasin Merchant the distance before going down 2-3 in a thriller, in the Rexello Castors-Islam Gymkhana Open Handicap&Invitation Snooker Tournament 2007 at the Islam Gymkhana today.

Merchant, who has qualified for the Asian Championship, overcame D'Souza (+14) 80-42, 72-38, 27-99, 59-68, 75-34 in a best-of-five frames Group 'A' tie for his second win.

D'Souza, who crashed to his first defeat in three games in the group, was unfazed by the loss of the opening two frames against his much accomplished opponent, as he rallied to win the next two to force the decider and earn praises from the twice Asian champion.

''Rovin certainly surprised me. I thought I had the match well in control after winning the first two frames. But he played brilliantly. In fact, I got nervous,'' said a relieved Merchant after clinching the close encounter.

D'Souza's remarkable effort overshadowed upcoming Nagpur lad Shravan Mohta's third consecutive win that enhanced his chances of a quarter-final berth.

Mohta, who earlier beat Tony Monteiro and Rishabh Pandya in Group 'A', rallied to a 3-1 win over Haji Usman who ended his campaign by crashing to his fifth consecutive defeat in the group.

Sarang Shroff and Ashok Shandilya were significant winners from Group 'B' and 'C', respectively.

Results: Group 'A': Yasin Merchant bt Rovin D'Souza (+14) 80-42, 72-38, 27-99, 59-68, 75-34; Shravan Mohta bt Haji Usman 62-41, 49-27, 19-44, 78-23.

Group 'B': Sarang Shroff bt Hasan Badami 68-26, 55-17, 98-32 Group 'C': Ashok Shandilya bt Marzdi Kalyaniwala 79-43, 5-72, 71-46, 84-51.

UNI