Pehlivanovic achieves success months on from European Pool Championships heartbreak

Pehlivanovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was victorious in the European 10-Ball Championship as Kibaroglu defended her women’s crown

Sanjin Pehlivanovic put on a classic display of tenball to claim the gold medal in the men’s discipline for Bosnia & Herzegovina at the European Championships in Lasko, Slovenia. The 20-year-old’s break was his main weapon as he delivered an impressive display to defeat Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk by 8-5.

Following a heartbreaking near miss last year in the final of the nineball discipline, when he missed an easy nine ball on the hill against Joshua Filler when victory was in his grasp, it was sweet redemption for Pehlivanovic and his joy in victory was fully manifested at the end.

“It feels incredible and I don’t know how to describe my emotions right now because six months ago I wanted it so badly and I had it but my emotions went too far. Of course, I’m really happy that I managed it this time. This whole tournament I was playing really well, holding my emotions and I only had one goal and I only came for what I left last year,” said an emotional Pehlivanovic after the match.

Pehlivanovic won the lag and delivered the first of what would be a succession of excellent break shots. Nudging the eight away from the four ball, he then played a nice bank on the pink to set up the run out.

A dry break from Szewczyk left the table open for his opponent but Pehlivanovic was forced to play safe on the six ball as it was too close to the ten ball to pocket it. They exchanged safeties before Szewczyk pocketed the 6 in the wrong pocket following a bank. With Pehlivanovic back at the table, he cleared for a 2-0 lead.

Three balls on the break and a wide-open table looked promising for Pehlivanovic but he missed a difficult 1 ball and a good safety from Szewczyk saw his opponent scratch trying to bank his way out of trouble. With ball in hand, the Pole cleared the table for his first rack of the final.

Another missed bank from Szewczyk handed the initiative back to Sanjin but he slightly ran out of position and missed the two ball which fell into a non-nominated pocket. Szewczyk played a tight safety with three balls left on the table and his opponent’s hit-and-hope left it open for the run out as the score moved to 2-2.

Another crunching break from Pehlivanovic left him to play a safety on the one ball. They went back and forth before Szewczyk missed the one down table and with ball in hand, Pehlivanovic cleared for 3-2. Szewczyk ran out from the break in the next to level the match at 3-3, before Pehlivanovic did similar to regain the lead.

Szewczyk had a shot on the one ball in the next but with the eight ball blocking its path to the corner pocket, he played a tidy carom. However, the cue ball followed the eight in to give Pehlivanovic a real opportunity to increase his lead and he made no mistakes to move to 5-3. Then another fine run out from the break saw Pehlivanovic move to 6-3.

A great shot from Szewczyk followed the break as he pocketed the two ball and made a difficult position on the three, opening up the rack. He ran out for 6-4 to keep his hopes alive. The Pole needed a slip up from his opponent in the next but another exemplary break from Sanjin put him into position to run the table and he obliged to reach the hill at 7-4.

Szewczyk wasn’t finished but with the racks running out he couldn’t afford a single mistake and an outstanding jump shot set up a clearance to get him to 7-5. That was his last visit as Pehlivanovic finished how he started with another superb break shot, followed by a run out to earn himself his first senior European Championship gold medal. For Szewczyk, a silver was his best ever effort and bronze medals went to beaten semi-finalists Niels Feijen (NED) and Roberto Bartol of Croatia.

“I’m trying always to think positive, but it’s pool and you have many ups and downs, so I’m just trying to stay positive, play my best game and hold my emotions which is the most important thing. Now I can breathe really good because these six months I’ve had flashbacks to last year but I think it’s made me stronger,” added Pehlivanovic.