Billiards

Nguyễn Đức Yến Sinh has become Việt Nam's first Asian women’s champion in three-cushion carom. —Photos courtesy of organisers

HCM CITY — Nguyễn Đức Yến Sinh has become Việt Nam's first continental female champion after winning the 14th Asian Carom Championship, which ended on May 10 in HCM City.

The four-day event brought together 80 leading cueists competing in four events: men’s and women's three-cushion, men’s one-cushion and men’s U22 three-cushion.

Representatives from the host team participated in all four finals, with Sinh being the only female Vietnamese competitor at the Hồ Xuân Hương Gymnasium in Xuân Hòa Ward.

The 22-year-old was confident ahead of the gold medal match against Lee Yu-na of South Korea, who had defeated world second seed Kim Ha-eun in the previous game.

Sinh quickly took the lead at 15-5 in the first round. Lee narrowed the score to 24-18 in the second and tried to catch up with her Vietnamese rival in the third. However, her effort was not enough, as Sinh maintained her strong performance to end the match at 30-19 after 35 innings.

Her impressive win earned Sinh not only the tournament trophy, but also Việt Nam's first-ever Asian women's championship.

Sinh began her title campaign in Group B and gained the only slot in the knockout round thanks to a good overall performance.

She defeated rising star Baek Ga-in of South Korea 30-25 in the quarter-finals, and overcame defending champion Heo Chae-won, also from South Korea, 30-12 in the semi-finals.

Minutes after Sinh's win, Phạm Cảnh Phúc secured the second gold for Việt Nam in the men's one-cushion event.

Phạm Cảnh Phúc in action in the men's one-cushion final.

He defeated Mori Yoichirou of Japan 100-42 after 14 innings to take his first Asian title, confirming Việt Nam's leading position in Asia in this category.

In the men's U22 three-cushion, Đinh Trọng Văn failed to beat reigning champion Kim Do-hyun of South Korea, losing 28-40. He took silver.

Việt Nam's former world champion Bao Phương Vinh was expected to lift the trophy in the men's three-cushion event. His supporters' hopes were strengthened when he defeated world top seed Cho Myung-woo of South Korea in the last-16 round.

But in the final, he failed to catch up with three-time world champion Kim Haeng-jik of South Korea, suffering a 42-50 loss after only 23 innings.

According to the Việt Nam Billiards and Snooker Federation, Việt Nam won two golds and two silvers in this tournament, a remarkable result that positions the country as one of the top billiards hubs in Asia.

Players will have the chance to show their talent again at the HCM City 3-Cushion Carom Billiards World Cup from May 18 to 24 at Nguyễn Du Gymnasium, a competition that serves as the second World Cup stage of 2026.

This premier event attracts the world's top cueists, such as Dick Jaspers of the Netherlands, Eddy Merckx of Belgium, Marco Zanetti of Italy, Tasdemir Tayfun of Türkiye and Sameh Sidhom of Egypt.

Vietnamese stars like Trần Quyết Chiến, Chiêm Hồng Thái and Trần Thanh Lực will take part as well. — VNS