Talwar upsets Lilly; to meet Yasin in 8-ball nationals semifinals

Mumbai, Feb 20 (UNI) For Chandigarh's Sumit Talwar, it's just a passion for pool that keeps him improving and it was no different this time when he knocked out fancied Dharmendra Lilly of Punjab 8-7 after trailing 3-6 at one stage before moving into the semifinals of the ONGC-Khar Gymkhana National 8-Ball Pool Championships here today.

The 24-year-old youngster now takes on former Asian champion Yasin Merchant for a place in the final.

In another quarterfinal tie, Railways Rafat Habib plays like a silent killer, who does not allow his opponent to know what hits him and that is how he disposed off Karnataka's Mohd. Arshad, who earlier had got the better of seeded Sandeep Gulati of Delhi,by 8 racks to 3.

Results: (Pre-quarterfinals): Yasin Merchant (Mah) bt Manan Chandra (PSPB) 7-0;Harpreet Singh (Deli) bt Praneet (TN) 7-5; Sumit Talwar (Chg) bt Dhruv Sitwala (PSPB) 7-1; Dharmendra Lilly (Pun) bt Balaji Reddi (Kar) 7-1; Rafat Habib (Rlys) bt D. Rajkumar (Kar) 7-0; Mohd Arshad (Kar) bt Sandeep Gulati (Deli) 7-6; Devendra Joshi (PSB) bt Akhil Patel (Mah) 7-1; Mohd Asim (Rlys) bt Karan Anand (Mah) 7-3.

(Quarterfinals): Yasin Merchant (Mah) bt Harpreet Singh (Dli) 8-3; Sumit Talwar (Chg) bt Dharmendra Lilly (Pun) 8-7; Rafat Habib (Rlys) bt Mohd Arshad (Kar) 8-3.

UNI