The 30-year-old came into the encounter searching for his first crown since claiming the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Egypt back in November last year.
Advani showed glimpses of the potential that saw him take two golds at the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, although he needed to work for his victory in a thrilling 7-5 win (39-4, 6-51, 40-14, 0-37, 41-7, 44-8, 21-38, 54-24, 1-35, 45-36, 15-38, 53-24) over Malaysia’s Keen Hoo Moh at the Novotel Hotel.
In the best of 13 frames, the tie was evenly balanced at 2-2, before Advani broke clear to lead 4-2. Hoo Moh reduced the deficit to one but with the score 5-4, his opponent opened up a two-frame cushion. From then on, Advani was always in control and finally wrapped up victory after nearly three-and-a-half hours.
For Advani, it was his first ever Asian title in any format and said his previous failures in the continental competition made him even more hungry to end that drought.
“I’m extremely happy to win this tournament,” said the champion. “I’ve not won any Asian Snooker Championship in any format. The 15 Reds Championship I haven’t been able to win no matter how hard I’ve tried and I think that’s what really motivated me to do well.”
Despite his good form the last five days, losing just 12 frames in eight games prior to Sunday’s final, he was wary he needed to be on top of his game to beat Hoo Moh who overcame Afghanistan’s Mohammad Rais Senzahi 6-3 in the last-four.
“He’s (Hoo Moh) probably one of the best players throughout this tournament and he won his matches more convincingly heading into the final,” he said.
“I’m just happy to get through this final because he’s a very dangerous player. He can suddenly come up with some ridiculous shots in the middle of the frames, so I knew I had to really play well and not give him those opportunities.
“Although I played well, if it went into a decider, I didn’t think I’d be able to do it. I just held my nerve at the end and I’m just really happy to win this title.”
Advani, winner of the 2003 IBSF World Snooker Championship now switches focus to the team event which begins Monday, where he is eager to build on this success.
“It’s important to keep winning. I’ve done well in the past and you don’t want to go eight to 10 months without a win. You want to keep winning consistently as possible,” added Advani.
Hoo Moh was left frustrated by his own display but admitted the best man won.
“You have to give credit to Advani because he played very good and fully deserves the win,” he said. “I made a couple of mistakes and that lost me the game. Advani was in control at crucial times but no matter how hard I tried, it was going to be hard to stop him.”
