Kolkata: 16-year-old Doyel Dey of Kolkata has made her state and host association proud by becoming the first girl from West Bengal to annex two National Billiards titles in the same Championship. She won in both, the Junior and Sub-Junior categories, at the BRC Gloster National Billiards Championship at the Bengal Rowing Club.

In the Sub-Junior (under-19) Billiards Final, Doyel defeated Kaivalya V. of Karnataka 69-55 to annex the crown and in the Junior (under-21) Billiards Final, she beat Mariam Agnish of Tamil Nadu 67-46.

The Class XI girl from North Calcutta, who took up the cue just three years ago, played calmly to defeat her challengers quite comfortably.

"I tried to concentrate and focus on the shot, and that really helped me today," she said.

She hopes that her win will encourage more girls from West Bengal to take up the cue. Currently, she is the only girl to play cue sports at her two clubs - YMCA College Branch and Oswal.

Debashish Mukhopadhyay, her coach and Honorary Secretary of the West Bengal Billiards Association, is all praise for her temperament and commitment. "Her qualities were clear from the first time I saw her. I won’t be surprised if she comes good in the Senior Ladies categories as well and make a lively contest against her older and much more experienced opponents," he said.