Pune: PYC Hindu Gymkhana’s Nimish Kulkarni and Vishal Kadam stood out among a clutch seasoned National cueists who qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2nd Rajabhau Shahade Cup PYC-Green Baize Open Snooker Challenge, at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana tables, on Monday.

In an all PYC last -16 encounter, Nimish got the better of Aditya Deshpande 61-37, 62-45, 18-65, 43-51, 82-18 in a marathon struggle. On the other hand, Vishal Kadam put out his opponent Mahesh Jagdale (Mumbai) 53-18, 46-63, 59-31, 75-35.

In the other matches, seasoned National players Bharat Sisodia (Madhya Pradesh), Himanshu Jain (Andhra Pradesh) and Mukund Bhardia and Ketan Chawla (both Mumbai) made it through.

India No. 25 Bharat pushed out Yogesh Lohiya (PYC) with a straight game win 60-25, 54-05, 88-02. Similarly, Mumbai’s Ketan Chawla, the India No. 75, had a easy game against Amol Abdagiri (Pune) 77-40, 71-29, 67-2.

Twenty five year old and top rated Himanshu Jain made his encounter easy winning against Kaiwalya Chavan (Satara) 89-2, 72-8, 85-13 with ease. In another long drawn match another Mumbaikar Mukund Bhardia pushed aside Suraj Rathi of Poona Club 56-24, 8-91, 28-57, 67-5, 72-51.

Results
Pre Quarterfinal: Bharat Sisodia (MP) bt Yogesh Lohiya (PYC) 60-25, 54-05, 88-2; Mukund Bhardia (Mumbai) bt Suraj Rathi (Poona Club) 56-24, 08-91, 28-57, 67-5, 72-51; Nimish Kulkarni (PYC) bt Aditya Deshpande (PYC) 61-37, 62-45, 18-65, 43-51, 82-18; Vishal Kadam (PYC) bt Mahesh Jagdale (Mumbai) 53-18, 46-63, 59-31, 75-35; Ketan Chawla (Mumbai) bt Amol Abdagiri (Pune) 77-40, 71-29, 67-02; Himanshu Jain (AP) bt Kaiwalya Chavan (Satara) 89-2, 72-08, 85-13.
Round-3:  Barat Sisodia (MP) bt Yogesh Sharma (Corner Pocket) 86-39, 63-31, 59-33; Nimish Kulkarni (PYC) bt Dhawal Gadvi (Corner Pocket) 70-40, 59-12, 57-4; Mahesh Jagdale (Mum) bt Priyank Jaiswal (MP) 76-55, 69-09, 24-52, 29-66, 61-18; Aditya Deshpande (PYC) bt MD Hussain (Mum) 66-23, 59-49, 72-56; Mukund Bharadia (Mum) bt Anand Apte (PYC) 67-31, 59-23, 62-9; Kaiwalya Chavan (Satara) bt Gaurav Jaisinghania (washi) 56-07, 53-87, 65-31, 43-47, 64-40; Yogesh Lohiya (PYC) bt Liyakat Shaikh (Solapur) 63-14, 55-22, 36-59, 74-20; Rahul Sachdev (Mum) bt Viren Sharma (MP) 69-43, 74-24, 73-15; Himanshu Jain (AP) bt Kumar Shinde (Poona Club) 74-40, 1-70, 63-26, 77 (60)-01; Anand Raghuwanshi (PYC) bt Rohan Kothare (Aurangabad) 57-10, 64-04, 58-67, 68-01; Vishal Kadam (PYC) bt Abhishek Bora (Corner Pocket) 63-52, 70-02, 46-32.