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Vietnamese cueists target SEA Games gold

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Vietnamese cueists have set a modest goal of one gold medal in the billiards & snooker event at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore, local online newspaper Vietnamnet reported Tuesday.

"Our target is to take a gold medal in the one-cushion carom division. In other categories, we will wait for luck to strike," said Vietnamese coach Nguyen Viet Hoa. According to Hoa, it will not be easy for Vietnam to bag gold medals in other categories.

Ma Minh Cam is Viet Nam's gold medal hope at the Games. Cam won a gold medal in the one-cushion carom event at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia, and in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, he took a silver medal after losing to 53-year-old Vietnamese Dang Dinh Tien in the finals.

Hoa noted that out of 10 billiards & snooker events at the 28th Games, four will be English billiards. Singapore surpasses other countries in English billiards as it owns English players naturalized in Singapore. Notable among them is Peter Gilchrist who had triumphed in world events in 1994, 2001, and 2013. Gilchrist has had no rivals at three Games in a row.

Meanwhile, in women's 9-ball pool, Huynh Thi Ngoc Huyen is likely to reach the semi-finals. Four years ago, at the 26th Games in Indonesia, Huyen won the first bronze medal in Vietnam's sport history, in women's billiards, and in 2013, she again took a bronze medal at the 27th Games in Myanmar. "I hope I can change my medal's color this time," Huyen said.

As part of preparations for the Games, a 12-member team has convened in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from March 31. The team will leave for Singapore on Thursday to participate in its competition events from June 6 to 10.

After the SEA Games, the players will compete in the three-cushion Carom World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City in August. Endi