Chennai, July 17 - Aditya Mehta of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board justified his reputation as the hottest young talent in India when he vanquished seasoned Yasin Merchant 6-2 in the final of the Madras Gymkhana Club's All-India invitational snooker tournament here Friday.

The 23-year old Mehta from Mumbai, who has been improving with each outing and especially after a stint on the professional circuit last season, was in imperious form and deservingly pocketed Rs.1.4 lakh, the highest prize-money in Indian snooker.

For the 42-year-old Merchant, the twice Asian and three times National champion, it was a sorry end to an otherwise fine tournament during which he made two century breaks, but was far too inconsistent in the final and the runner-up cheque of Rs.80,000 was small consolation.

'Every shot that he played today was just remarkable and I am not disappointed as I lost to a better player,' said Merchant, also from Mumbai.

Mehta was a relieved man after breaking his jinx in the finals.

'Merchant has always been our inspiration for what he has achieved in snooker and a great achievement to beat him today. He was supportive when I had lost to him last year in a final and said that my time will come. I am very happy that I broke a jinx of losing the previous six finals,' said Mehta.

The match had a gripping start with Merchant taking the first frame on the black before Mehta got into his stride to take the next four aided by the century break and a brilliant run of 56 in the fifth for a 4-1 advantage.

The century break saw Mehta in full flow as he picked his way through the reds some of which were bunched around the black.

Exercising tremendous control, he released the reds to keep the break going.