15 November 2023
This handicap is reserved for the over 55’s. That’s not to say the standard of snooker is going to be lower for it. At 16, Jas Bhamra has one of the lowest handicaps in the club and Bali Chana, at 23 is not much higher.
Bhamra’s quality of potting was on show right from the start. A difficult red cut precisely into the middle pocket, led to good positioning on, and the potting of, brown, red and black. Chana’s handicap lead was wiped out. Missed reds and uncontrolled canons took 7 reds up the table passed the baulk line. Hence the middle of the game was dominated by safety play and the cue ball spending most of the time on or near the ‘black’ cushion.
A half chance then became available to Chana on a red, with a good angle to get onto the black. The cue ball rolled into perfect position for the black, but alas the red was missed. Frustratingly for Chana, as well as black, there were also a number of reds around the black which looked inviting for Bhamra to exploit. He did, and a 17 point, three red/two black break materialised. Both players then each scored similar small breaks, until Bhamra set to on another 17 break with considerable skill in the positioning of the cue ball. Despite further potting and some good luck, Chana could not eat into Bhamra’s 30 + lead and only one red was left on the table. Bhamra extinguished all hope for Chana when he potted the last red, along with brown, yellow and green. With his 26 points compared to his opponents 67 points, Bali Chana conceded the Veterans handicap trophy to a well deserved winner Jas Bhamra.
Competitions Secretary Dave Sykes with Winner Jas Bhamra and Runner up Bali Chana