KUALA LUMPUR: Thor Chuan Leong fell short in his bid to end his Thailand SEA Games campaign with a third gold medal after bowing out in the semi-finals of the men’s singles snooker competition on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old, who was seeking to defend his title and win the event for a third time, had to settle for bronze after losing 4-2 (109-1, 70-29, 0-77, 70-8, 19-85, 67-0) to Thailand’s Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn at the Thunderdome in Nonthaburi.
Earlier in the day, Chuan Leong had shown resilience in the quarter-finals, digging deep to edge Laos’ Suriya Minalavong 4-3 (59-20, 21-64, 62-6, 82-47, 24-79, 47-67, 72-2).
Lim Kok Leong, the Hanoi 2021 silver medallist, was Malaysia’s other representative in the men’s singles but failed to advance past the last eight after suffering a narrow 4-3 defeat (27-94, 62-47, 40-77, 1-66, 72-58, 86-17, 63-12) to Myanmar’s Phone Myint Kyaw.
With the elimination of Chuan Leong and Kok Leong, Malaysia concluded their SEA Games snooker campaign with a seven-medal haul, highlighted by a double gold sweep in the men’s six-red events.
Chuan Leong had earlier clinched the men’s six-red singles title before teaming up with Kok Leong and Moh Keen Hoo to secure gold in the men’s six-red team event.
The trio also contributed a bronze medal in the men’s snooker team competition.
Malaysia’s women also played their part, with debutants Bronica Song and Tan Kim Mei accounting for three bronze medals — two in the six-red singles and one in the six-red team event.
The spotlight, however, shone brightest on Chuan Leong, who capped a remarkable Games with a career-best haul of two gold and two bronze medals.
The only other occasion he won two gold medals at a single SEA Games was in Singapore in 2015.
Now appearing in his eighth SEA Games since making his debut in Korat in 2007, Chuan Leong has amassed an impressive 15 medals overall.
Notably, the two gold medals won in Thailand brought his career tally to seven in snooker alone, making him the most successful Malaysian cueist in the discipline at the SEA Games.
While legendary Sam Chong collected eight SEA Games gold medals during his illustrious career, only five came from snooker, with the remaining three earned in pool.
At just 37, Chuan Leong remains firmly at the peak of his powers, and with several strong years still ahead of him, it seems inevitable that he will continue to build on his remarkable medal haul.
With Malaysia set to host the next SEA Games in 2027, the stage is already being set for the veteran cueist to once again play a leading role on home soil.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd