Ashtosh Padhy justified his reputation as king of cuesports in Odisha by emerging champion in the 1st All-Odisha Open 6-Red Snooker Tournament, which was organised by Billiards & Snooker Association of Odisha (BSAO) at Bhubaneswar Club, Bhubaneswar from 4 to 9 March 2024.

A former National sub-junior and junior champion, Asutosh defeated Bhubaneswar city opponent Kunal Agarwal in the final by 7-2 frames to take home the top prize of Rs 21,000. Runner-up Agrawal received Rs 11,000. The losing semi-finalists and quarter-finalists were given Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500 each.

Asutosh also pocketed a cash award of Rs 5,000 for notching the highest break of 61 in the final match. The award for promising player of the tournament went to Udbhas Mahapatra, who received Rs 3,000.

President- Bhubaneswar Club president Asit Tripathy graced the closing ceremony as chief guest. Bhubaneswar Club billiards & snooker in-charge Koushik Mohapatra, BSAO secretary Sameer Ali, vice-president Ashok Das, treasurer Kalyan Chhotoroy, patron Prabir Singhdeo and tournament director Govind Sharma were present on the occasion.

The six-day tournament marked the dawn of a new era for cuesports in Odisha. Headed by Tara Ranjan Patnaik, BSAO has many more plans to take the game of green baize to a new height. Apart from organising the first official prize-money tournament, BSAO showed a commendable gesture by felicitating Asutosh Padhy and Subrat Das as the two most successful cueists of the State.

BSAO President Pattnaik, who is also the chairman of Falcon Marine Exports Ltd, lauded the journey of both the international cueists and rewarded the duo with special cash awards Rs 1 lakh each. Earlier in the semifinals, Padhy outplayed Rakesh Roshan Pradhan 6-3, while Agarwal faced stiff fight against Subrat Das before winning 6-5.
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PHOTO: Champion Asutosh Padhy (Right) and runner-up Kunal Agarwal pose with their trophies in Bhubaneswar on 9 March 2024.