Aanya Patel posted a comfortable win over Snenthra Babu in the World Under-21 Women’s Snooker Championship at the KSBA in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Credit: DH photo
Bengaluru: Narucha Phoemphul’s aesthetic is as delicate as her deftness with a cue in hand.
It’s impossible to ascertain how many have fallen prey to her amiability on and around the table, but stepping away from all the niceties on display, you see a cold competitor on a mission to be discreet about her ruthlessness.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s Manar Albalawi felt the full force of Phoemphul’s versatility but surely didn’t feel undone for Phoemphul’s cordial ways earned a smile from her opponent at the end of a tedious encounter.
Phoemphul posted an 80-9, 43-34 win over Albalawi in the Women’s Under-21 Snooker Championship at the Karnataka State Billiards Association.
Having finished runners-up in the recently held World Women’s Under-21 Snooker Championships, Phoemphul came into this tournament with a title on her mind.
Given how skilled she is, there is no reason to believe she won’t go the distance. That said, she still needs to fine-tune her protocol when encountering sticky safety situations.
Take this game for instance, she looked about as composed as they come in the opening frame, even registering a finger-click-earning break of 56, but as soon as Albalawi resorted to denying her the freedom by spreading out the balls in the second frame, Phoemphul was forced into a shell.
While Phoemphul prefers to go for the clean strikes, some of those cuts in the opening frame were delectable, she was now pushed into a corner and asked to wriggle her way out repeatedly.
She wasn’t too bad at doing so, but being bogged down had her missing the more obvious shots, the kind which she put away with a smile and a follow in the first frame.
Had Phoemphul been pitted against a more safety-oriented cueist or someone with more tact on the table, she certainly would have had a harder time. In that sense, Albalawi’s apprehension and flaky focus became Phoemphul’s saving grace.
Phoemphul is not likely to have that luxury in the days to come. Also, everyone on the circuit here is now aware of her prowess so maybe they won’t fall for the ‘killing ‘em softly’ stratagem.