Carom

Bảo Ngọc Filipino legend Efren "Bata" Reyes lost in the semi-finals of the men's one-cushion carom to Việt Nam's Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự at Hà Đông Gymnasium on May 18. Reyes, 67, ended his bid for a gold medal after he was defeated by Tự with a score of 55-100, as this is not his strong suit. Before the match, Reyes admitted that it was very tough to beat Vietnamese players in one-cushion carom since the country possesses several high-quality players in this discipline. Reyes opened the game with a 5-0 lead, but home player Tự fought back spectacularly, taking the lead with 27 points. Even though the Filipino legend scored 13 consecutive points, he was unable to close the gap. By the end of the game, Reyes had almost no chance of tying the score. Thanh Tự earned the final victory with a score of 100-55. Due to this loss, Reyes holds only a bronze medal from the SEA Games 31. Talking about his performance in the semi-finals, Tự said: "Not that I'm unhappy, it's okay to … [Read more...] about Legend Reyes stopped in semis of one-cushion carom

Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu and Pham Quoc Tuan have won gold and silver medals in the 1-cushion carom billiards event at the 31st Southeast Asian Games ( SEA Games 31 ). The finals were rescheduled after Tuan tested positive for coronavirus one day earlier. In line with regulations, Tuan could not participate in the final. As a result, he got the silver medal and his Vietnamese teammate bagged gold. Two bronze medals went to Efren Reyes and Francisco Dela Cruz of the Philippines. Also on May 19, a series of billiards matches have been scheduled, including the semi-final of the English Billiards 100 up between the Vietnamese pair Nguyen Thanh Binh - Tran Le Anh Tuan and their Myanmar opponents Min Sithu Tun - Pauk Sa; and the quarter-final of 3-cushion carom between Tran Quyet Chien of Vietnam and Efren Reyes of the Philippines./. VNA … [Read more...] about SEA Games 31: Vietnam win gold, silver in 1-cushion carom billiards

Việt Nam's Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự in action when leading Filipino legend Efren Reyes 12-6 in the semi - finals. VNA/VNS Photo Khánh Hòa HOÀNG HỒ HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự didn’t need to break a sweat as he triumphed in the men's one-cushion carom on May 19, due to his opponent Phạm Quốc Tuấn’s withdrawal. The all–Vietnamese final at Hà Đông Gymnasium wasn’t able to take place as Tuấn was positive with COVID-19 the day before and couldn’t attend the match. With the result, Tự defended the hosts’ SEA Games one–cushion carom title, Tuấn finished second while the bronze is shared between Filipino Efren Reyes and Francisco Dela Cruz. For Đoàn Tuấn Anh, leader of the Việt Nam Billiard & Snooker team at the SEA Games 31, Tuấn’s absence was a shame, but there was no other way due to the Games’ regulation. “According to the regulations of the Organising Committee, in all sports, athletes who are positive with COVID-19 cannot attend any match,” Tuấn Anh said. “Because Tuấn … [Read more...] about Việt Nam crowned one–cushion carom champions in unique fashion

Việt Nam's Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự in action against Filipino legend Efren Reyes in the semi-finals. VNA/VNS Photo Khánh Hòa HOÀNG HỒ HÀ NỘI — The hotly anticipated all-Vietnamese men's one-cushion corom was not to be, as Phạm Quốc Tuấn was forced to withdraw after testing positive. And so, without breaking a sweat, Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự won the men's one-cushion carom on May 19, due to Tuấn being unable to compete. With the result, Tự defended the hosts’ SEA Games one–cushion carom title, Tuấn finished second while the bronze is shared between Filipino Efren Reyes and Francisco Dela Cruz. For Đoàn Tuấn Anh, leader of the Việt Nam Billiard & Snooker team at the SEA Games 31, Tuấn’s absence was a shame, but there was no other way due to the Games’ regulation. “According to the regulations of the Organising Committee, in all sports, athletes who are positive with COVID-19 cannot attend any match,” Tuấn Anh said. “Because Tuấn got COVID-19 on … [Read more...] about COVID cancels all-Vietnamese one-cushion carom final

Despite being one of the best carom players, this is the first SEA Games gold medal for Quyet Chien as this category is rarely held at the SEA Games. The final got off to a very even start with both players closely following each other on every point. However, against one of the world’s best, Anh Chien couldn’t keep his momentum and missed a few tough shots when the match was getting more intense. And that Quyet Chien left his compatriot far behind as the 38-year-old showed his class, scoring consecutive points to take a big 31-16 lead. Anh Chien’s massive late effort helped the world top 20 player to narrow the gap to 35-24 before Quyet Chien sealed the final with five world-class shots to be crowned the champion. With his first SEA Games title, Quyet Chien became the second Vietnamese player to win the SEA Games in this category after Nguyen Quoc Nguyen’s gold in 2011. On his way to the final, Quyet Chien had a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity when he faced the legendary … [Read more...] about Vietnam triumph in SEA Games 31 three-cushion carom

HOÀNG HỒ HÀ NỘI — Trần Quyết Chiến proved why he’s the world number 3 in three-cushion carom after bettering Nguyễn Đức Anh Chiến in an all-Vietnamese final at Hà Đông Gymnasium on May 22. Despite being one of the best carom players, this is the first SEA Games gold medal for Chiến as this category is rarely held at the SEA Games. The final got off to a very even start with both players closely following each other on every point. However, against one of the world’s best, Anh Chiến couldn’t keep his momentum and missed a few tough shots when the match was getting more intense. And that Quyết Chiến left his compatriot far behind as the 38-year-old showed his class, scoring consecutive points to take a big 31-16 lead. Anh Chiến’s massive late effort helped the world top 20 player to narrow the gap to 35-24 before Quyết Chiến sealed the final with five world-class shots to be crowned the champion. With his first SEA Games title, Trần Quyết Chiến became the second Vietnamese … [Read more...] about Việt Nam triumph in three-cushion carom

Vietnamese cueist Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese cueist Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu will face the 67-year-old Philippine billiard legend Efren Reye in the men’s 1-cushion Carom semifinals of the 31st Southeast Asian Games ( SEA Games 31 ) in Hanoi on May 18. Tu won 1-0 against Malaysia’s Muhammad Almie in their quarterfinal match a day prior to seal a berth in the next round. On May 17, Bui Xuan Vang and Nguyen Bich Tram earned the country two bronze medals in the women’s 9-ball pool. They were outlasted by the Philippines’ Rubilen Amit in first place and Singapore’s Tan Hui Ming in the second. Lim Kok Leong of Malaysia championed the six-red snooker singles after beating Jefrey Roda from the Philippines 5-3 in the finals. The bronzes went to Moh Keen Hoo from Malaysia and Suchakree Poomjang from Thailand. Billiard players are competing at Hanoi’s Ha Dong Gymnasium from May 14 – 22 for ten sets of medals, including Men's Pool, Women's Pool, … [Read more...] about Vietnamese cueist to face Philippine billiard legend in SEA Games 31 semifinals

Sharp eyes. Great shots amazed the crowd. His happy expression has become a trademark. Few would think that he is about to turn 68. Efren “Bata” Reyes . Some call him a wizard, some call him a magician , but the most fitting title for the player born in 1954 in the Philippines is “the greatest pool player of all time”. Coming to SEA Games 31 in the twilight of his career was enough to create a stir at the Ha Dong Gymnasium. Reyes competes in two events at SEA Games 31 : carom 1 tape and carom 3 tape, neither of which are his forte. He got off to a slow started and trailed his Thai opponent early on, but he still knew how to bring some magic at the right time and finished with the win, to the amazement of the crowd his opponent, and moved on to the semi-finals in the carom 1 tape event. During his time at the top of the game, Efren won more than 100 international titles, an achievement that all contemporary pool players aspire to./. VNA … [Read more...] about Pool legend reappears at SEA Games 31

54-year-old billiard player from Singapore Peter Gilchrist (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysia’s Buda Anak Anchah, at the age of 50, has proven that old is gold in bodybuilding at the ongoing SEA Games 31 in Vietnam, according to the SEA Games 31 Organising Committee. The muscle-man secured a silver medal in the men’s 70kg category in Hanoi, which ended his long wait for a SEA Games medal. This is Buda’s third SEA Games. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officer has won medals at world and Asian levels, including a silver in the World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last year, but he has not been successful when it comes to the SEA Games. Meanwhile, 68-year-old billiard player from the Philippines Efren Reyes is the oldest athlete at SEA Games 31. He has won more than 100 international championship titles and two golds at previous SEA Games. Reyes has been a tough opponent for young players in the 3 tape carom. The Games … [Read more...] about SEA Games 31: Athletes prove “old is gold”

Efren Reyes  (L) and Thai billiard player Suriya Suwannasingh (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Efren Reyes got the rock-star treatment on May 16 at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), where he advanced to the semifinals of the men’s one-cushion carom singles on the same day at Ha Dong Gymnasium in Hanoi, according to a Philippines sports website spin.ph. An article titled “Efren 'Bata' Reyes gets rock-star treatment in Vietnam” on the website said Reyes beat Thailand’s Suriya Suwannasingh 65-58 and secured at least a bronze medal to the delight of an animated Vietnamese crowd who packed the venue just to see the Filipino pool legend in action. Reyes, 68,  was later mobbed with by Vietnamese billiards fans outside the venue who wanted a selfie, autograph, or even just to see the billiards legend in the flesh, the article said Shortly after the match, Reyes' Thai opponent, match officials and even members of the television crew sought selfie moments with the … [Read more...] about SEA Games 31: Philippine newspaper impressed with Vietnamese welcome for Efren Reyes