The Calcutta Swimming Club organised Kolkata Open Invitation and Pro Am Snooker Championship, in association with The Telegraph, from November from 19-22 and 22 to December 2, respectively. The Pro Am league provided a golden opportunity to all the sport enthusiasts in the club as well as beyond it to be paired up with a professional snooker player through a lucky draw. They were divided into four groups of four teams each, out of which the top two teams from each group qualified for the knockout. Aditya Mehta and Devesh Sonthalia won 3-2 in the best of five frames emerging as winners of the Pro Am.
Kolkata Open Invitation had all top cueists from the country, taking part in a nail-biting competition. Aditya Mehta and Ishpreet Singh Chadha battled it out in the finals and kept everyone at the edge of their seats. The latter took the trophy home, winning 4-2 in a best of seven frames.
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
“I have won the Pro Am a few times before with a different partner, but playing with Devesh was a very good experience. We definitely enjoyed tackling the various challenges we faced in the finals but the ultimate goal was to win and we did emerge victorious. It was a fun tournament overall,” said Aditya Mehta, a professional snooker player and winner of the Pro Am.
“To watch all the Indian snooker legends play in our club was an unbelievable experience. We had the best players in the country playing alongside our club members, making it an unforgettable event,” said Siddharth Jhunjhunwala, sports chairman, The Calcutta Swimming Club (centre).
“I can confidently say that the sport has evolved quite a lot and these youngsters today possess such immense talent, making them best of the best. It was an absolute delight to watch them play the tournament,” said Nitin C Dani, president, The Calcutta Swimming Club.
“Playing with Aditya Mehta was like a dream to me, and when I got to know that I’d be partnering up with him, it gave me a sense of confidence. Winning Pro Am felt like cakewalk for me because of Aditya who gave me a lot of support,” said Devesh Sonthalia, winner of Pro Am.