Faisal Khan ousts Yasin Merchant in 2012 Islam Gymkhana - BSAM Open Snooker tournament
After a close encounter at the Islam Gymkhana, Railway’s Faisal Khan stunned his snooker coach and one of the most successful snooker players in India, Yasin Merchant by a close score line of 5-4. The final match of the 2012 Islam Gymkhana-BSAM Open Snooker
tournament slid into the decisive frame where Khan overcame his teacher to lift the title.
The duo just came back from Pakistan after participating in the 2012 Seven-Nation International Snooker Championship at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi, Pakistan. Despite the fact that the pair was unable to reach the finals of the event, they received
a lot of support from there. Only Merchant managed to make it to the quarters but lost there.
Both potters had a superb start in the tournament and hit the final spot after producing some of the most outstanding performances in their campaigns. The best-of-nine frame final clash was yet another display of tussling game and terrific potting because
both Merchant and Khan knew the snooker skills of each other and had the idea to cope with that.
Speaking to the media after losing to Khan, Merchant said, “Faisal was a deserving victor. He was aggressive, positive, confident and completely comfortable. I managed to force the decider because pressure gets the best out of me.”
Khan, on the other hand, added, “It's not very often that one enjoys a 4-0 lead against a player like Yasin sir. He showed his class by stretching the match into the decider by punishing me each time I made a mistake. His quick breaks put me under pressure.
But I was striking the balls well and chose to play my natural game.”
The final clash started with a superb snooker display from the apprentice as he cruised into 4-0 lead in no time. He pocketed some classy snooker shots to nudge his veteran opponent by 4-0 after compiling four frame wins by the scores of 118-16, 66-29, 69-6
and 73-42.
Merchant felt a bit pressure in the beginning but he managed well after that and replied with four sensational frame wins by 0-68, 46-65, 13-69 and 48-62 to pull level at 4-4 and drag the match into the decider frame where Khan was victorious by a close
score line of 71-53.
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