On the green baize

Exhibiting talent at the table, the Elphinstone Cricket Club (ECC) team of Kersi Gandhi, Farhad Tengra, Mahesh Jagdale, Arun Agarwal and Tejas Shah emerged winners at the Mumbai Billiards League 2011. The Open handicap league tournament was organized by the Dadar Parsee Colony Gymkhana (DPCG) from July 3 to 8 and was sponsored by the Zarine and Yazdi Daruvala Charitable Trust. The event was conducted under the auspices of The Billiards and Snooker Association of Maharashtra (BSAM). Legendary cueist Michael Ferreira, four times world champion, was the chief guest. Zenobia and Farhad Unwalla graced the occasion as guests of honor.

Elphinstone Club billiards champions (above, from left) Kersi Gandhi, Mahesh Jagdale, Farhad Tengra, Arun Agarwal and Tejas Shah with Zenobia Unwalla (3rd from right); Top: Ronnie Daruwalla

With 30 teams participating, winners and runners-up received trophies and cash prizes from the Trust. With crisp potting from top players, Dhruv Sitwala, current world No. 2, got the highest break prize for his 136, playing for the P. J. Hindu Gymkhana. The Cricket Club of India’s Jaiveer Dhingra won the prize for the most promising and consistent cueist of the tournament. Agarwal, who is Maharashtra No. 1, finished the tournament in style by scoring 99 and narrowly missing out on a century, describes Ronnie Daruwalla, who is the joint billiards secretary with Farokh Tamboly. Two trophies in memory of the late Coomi S. Panthaki were handed over to the winners by Arnaz Tamboly.

The DPCG also hosted for the first time the Maharashtra State Selection Tournament for ladies from July 12 to 15, 2011, where twice veteran national snooker champion Heena Khandelwal stood first and India No. 2 Meenal Thakur was second, Daruwalla informs Parsiana.

After a hiatus of 17 years, the DPCG also hosted the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations for Welfare and Culture (FOZAWAC) handicap open billiards and snooker tournament from July 24, with the finals to be held on August 21, 2011, notes Daruwalla who is a player himself and also a tournament committee head for BSAM. The DPCG has provided world class infrastructure, with Shender snooker tables and lighting equipment to international standards, he adds.

Last November, the DPCG had hosted the BSAM WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation) Trust 6 Red Snooker Knockout Tournament in which Daruwalla and other players like Cyrus Kyani, Malcolm Kapadia, Percy Patel, Cyrus Mistry, Marzdi Kalyaniwala, Navroze Vania, Navzer Lala, Kaizad Fitter, Cyrus Aga, Burges Colabawala and others represented their respective clubs. The DPCG team made it to the semi finals for two consecutive years, Daruwalla adds.