Mumbai: Qualifier Abhishek Soparkar shocked seasoned cueist Yasin Merchant 7-6 in the Rs 1.89 lakh NSCI-BoI All India 9-Ball Open Pool tournament here yesterday.


Yasin Merchant 

Soparkar, a resident of Thane who trailed former Asian snooker champion Merchant 2-5, surged to a 6-5 lead with a stunning recovery, before snatching a nail-biting win on a day of close encounters. In other ties that went down to the wire, Mahesh Jagdale of Elphinstone Cricket Club beat qualifier Divesh Gangwani of Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana and Arun Madhu of Tamil Nadu overcame J S Dawer of host club NSCI.