Billiards

Trần Quyết Chiến of Việt Nam celebrates his UMB Veghel World Cup Three-Cushion win, beating Frederic Caudron of Belgium in the final. Photo of UMB

HÀ NỘI Vietnamese billiards champion Trần Quyết Chiến looks to earn back the world No 1 position after taking his fourth World Cup billiards trophy in the Netherlands.

Chiến arrived back in HCM City from Veghel on Monday, and was warmly welcomed by his many supporters and reporters at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport.

He had just earned the golden trophy at the UMB Veghel World Cup Three-Cushion 2024, his second world title of the year, and the No 2 place in the world billiards rankings.

Chiến successfully defeated 21-time World Cup winner Frederic Caudron of Belgium 50-38 in the final on October 26.

"It's always a great feeling to be the ultimate winner of a tournament. Of course, it's not easy to achieve," said Chiến.

"After a period of poor performance, losing in all of my recent competitions, I carefully prepared for this tournament. I tried to improve my fitness and trained hard. Before leaving for Veghel, I suddenly felt like I was doing everything well and progressing."

"In Veghel, the break between the semi-finals and the final was short. I had no time to rest but ate a little," he noted.

"Like in other finals, I didn't care who my rival was -- even though this time it was Caudron, a three-cushion legend -- because I thought my biggest opponent was myself. So I just focused on what I could do and tried to score the best.

"Caudron is one of the top players in the world, his level can even be said to be No 1. However, in our previous meets I was not inferior -- my performance was higher. I wasn't afraid of him but tried to do my job best and won," he added.

Trần Quyết Chiến and his fourth World Cup trophy. -- Photo 24h.com.vna

Chiến first topped the world ranking table in June, when he advanced to the quarter-finals of the Ankara World Cup in Turkey.

But defeats in the next few events dropped him to third place in the rankings. After Veghel, Chiến has jumped back up to No 2, and now he aims to take the lead again.

"No 1, No 2 or No 10 or 11 are just numbers. It's not too significant or important to me. I was No 1 already, and I'm proud of being the first Vietnamese player in that position. Right now it doesn't matter where I sit, and I'm not under any pressure to be back at the top," he said.

"However, people need development, and everyone wants to do something big. I will strive to hopefully return to No 1 one more time."

Chiến will have one week of rest before he is back in action at the Seoul World Cup from November 4 to 10.

"After the Netherlands, I really need to rest first, because it was a tough competition with strong rivals," said Chiến.

"I will practise later and will not set any goals at this event, just try to go as far as possible in Seoul."

Joining Chiến in Seoul is teammate Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự, who earned a bronze medal in the Netherlands.

Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự beats many giant rivals at the Veghel World Cup to take bronze medal. -- Photo of UMB

Tự made a splash at his first World Cup in Veghel after defeating the world No 1, Dick Jaspers of the Netherlands, in the quarter-final round before losing to Caudron in the semis.

He had previously sent legendary players Eddy Merckx of Belgium (world No 4), Sameh Sidhom of Egypt (No 8), and Torbjorn Blomdahl of Sweden (No 9) home.

Due to his performance, he leaped from No 46 to No 26 in the world, along with earning a bonus of 6,000 euros (US$6,500), which he said he will use to get married and prepare for the next event. VNS