Open snooker may become annual feature

Ravikumar David, Chairman, TMCA, Madras said the open tournament this year was hastily planned and the organisers could not get top entries from Karnataka and Maharashtra. He indicated that the event would be held every year. “We have a good set of snooker and billiards players in TMCA and it is a popular sport. We will look at better options next year,” he said.

The matches will be played at YMCA Vepery with RB Ganesh as chief referee. The notable players participating in the tournament are current Tamil Nadu state champion S Shri Krishna, current India No. 5 S Dilip Kumar, Prabhu, J Varun Kumar, Rafath Habib, R Loganathan, SA Saleem, Pranit Ramchandani from Andhra Pradhesh, former India No.2 Pandurangiah, Venkatesam and Aravind Kumar. 

RB Ganesh said the open tournament clashed with the RKG tournament in New Delhi and other all-India tournaments in Bengaluru, Pune and Matunga (Mumbai). “Many players felt sorry they could not come for the Chennai event because they had already committed to these tournaments. But they will all come next year and I am sure this will become an annual feature,” added Ganesh. 

The first prize of the event carries a purse of Rs 50,000, second place Rs 30,000 and the semi-finalists take home Rs 15,000 each. The prize for the highest break is Rs 5,000.