Defending junior billiards champion Pankaj Advani [ Images ] and strong challenger Aditya Mehta took their appointed places in the semi-finals of the event in the ongoing National Billiards and Snooker Tournament with comprehensive victories in Mumbai [ Images ] on Thursday.

Also through to the last four were Saurav Kothari, son of former world amateur champion Manoj, of Bengal and Rishab Thakkar of Maharashtra [ Images ], a protégé of former three-time world amateur winner Michael Ferreira.

Bangalore-based Advani, a former IBSF World Snooker champion representing Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, recorded three century breaks of 119, 146 and 101 on way to demolish Maharashtra's Rishab Pandya 1001-12 for a place in the round-robin semi-finals.

Mumbai-based Mehta got past AP's Lucky Vatiani 462-330, with the help of two significant breaks of 77 and 57, in the one and a half hour quarter-final at the suburban Goregaon Sports Club.