Chandra Hirjee . . . . 1,644, Robert Marshall . . . 1,539
From our sports Correspondents
Calcutta , November 28.
Bengal’s unpredictable Chandra Hirjee played the match of his life, combining losing hazards and top – of – the – table play to perfection, to bring off the biggest billiards surprise of the year by beating the world champion Robert Marshall, of Australia, in the World Amateur Billiards Championship here tonight.
Tonight was India’s hour and Chandra Hirjee, once he struck his form in the second session could not be stopped by the World’s amateur ace cueist.
Hirjee played like a man possessed, at times bringing off impossible shots. He threw caution to the winds and fought with his back to the wall to wipe off the lead Marshall had gained at the first session. This he did and went on to win the game . Hirjee’s performance will long be remembered for it was tempered with class – and he played magnificent billiards to beat Marshall.
Marshall commenced the game poorly and in the first’s hour’s play was trailing Hirjee by 183 points. But he got down to the game and rattled off three consecutive hundred breaks to take the lead. This was the first hat – trick of the tournament . His breaks were 108, 155 and 113. Hirjee’s only century breaks of this session was 111 scored at the seventh visit to the table.
At the end of the first session Marshall was leading by 799 to 646 points with 90 in play in his favour.
Robert Marshall, as usual, gave a polished display at the top of the table , and it must be said that though he started badly he recovered as the first – session score indicates.
In the second session Marshall took his 90 – break up of 105. Now Hirjee settled down to the task of wiping off the deficit, and this he did in brilliant style. Hirjee was more consistent than Marshall in the second session and his repeated breaks of forties, fifties and sixties did the trick for him.
A break of 161 by Hirjee gave him the lead at 1,354 to 1,138 points. Marshall could not be denied and he was not throwing in the towel. He fought back grimly and a break of 60 brought him within two points of Hirjee’s total. A little later Marshall forged ahead through a break of 27, the scores being 1,459 to 1,452 points.
In the last seventeen minutes Hirjee managed to scrape through to a narrow e4evictory, the final scores being 1,644 points to 1,539 in his favour