3-Cushion
DOHA - The stop in Doha, Qatar, at the end of this Sunday afternoon, Vietnamese player Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, the new vice world champion in three cushion, takes a ten minute break at the airport to look back. The World championship, which ended in Denmark on Saturday night in a final between Torbjörn Blomdahl and the 36-year-old Vietnamese player. His career has moved ahead very quickly. Duc Anh Chien, or better 'Chien' for his friends, has started to study English, but so far his wife Õc Tiêu is still a perfect translator. The new star player has risen to 14th place on the world ranking after his second place at the World championship in Randers. He is the second Vietnamese in the top ranking, Quyet Chien Tran is eighth.
With seven more hours to fly to Ho Chi Minh, here is a moment for a quick comment to Kozoom. Duc Anh Chien, after the final by Torbjörn Blomdahl mentioned: a player with a golden stroke.
Kozoom/Frits Bakker: How close was the world title to you at the end of the final against Torbjörn Blomdahl? What a wonderful come-back in that match?
Chien: I was a bit disappointed, of course, because I had come this far and I could threaten my opponent. But I played a wonderful tournament and gave it all until the end. I can only be satisfied with what I have done. And I'm proud. I am the first Vietnamese player to be second on a World champion podium after third places of Minh Cam Ma in 2017 and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen in 2018. Three years in a row a Vietnamese player on the world' most important stage, that is really a huge success for our nation.
Kozoom/FB: How did you finish the evening after the final in Randers?
Chien: We had dinner with all the players in a beautiful room. Then, we went to the hotel because we had a long day of travel to go. First of all, eight hours from Denmark, then seven hours from Qatar. But I had a good sleep, because I fell asleep right after the tiring final day.
Kozoom/FB: What is it like for you to live, and most of all eat in all those foreign countries according to the national culture? Is that a major and difficult adjustment?
Chien: Not for me, I have no problem with foreign food. Moreover, we usually cook for ourselves in the hotel according to the Vietnamese cuisine.
Kozoom/FB: What will you do first of all when you and your wife are back on Vietnamese soil?
Chien: We will go straight home, because we missed our five year old son so much. Because of the many billiard flights, tournaments and training every day, I don't see him so much. He was with our parents during this week in Denmark, and he certainly will have missed us.
Kozoom/FB: You and your son have very similar names.
Chien: My son, Nguyen Duc Anh Quan, is 5 years old, my name is Nguyen Duc Anh Chien. Quan means 'king', Chien means 'victory'. When I speak for myself: Chien is how my friends call me, Nguyen my second name, Duc Anh are my first names.
Kozoom/FB: Billiard fans saw you as the big unknown in the global billiard world. When did you actually start playing billiards?
Chien: During the first years of our marriage, I didn't play that fanatically. My wife and I have started a food company. In my young years, when I was eleven, I started playing billiards for the first time, but only later, in 2009, I focused on three cushion. The three of us now live in Long Thánh, a town close to Ho Chi Minh, where I go up and down every day to practice in a club.
Kozoom/FB: What was your first breakthrough... and why so late?
Chien: Three cushion is very popular in Vietnam for only a short time. And after that, I went to play more and more. I am now number one on the ranking in Vietnam with major players such as Quyet Chien Tran, Nguyen Quoc Nguyen and others. Two years ago, I played my first big event with a high ranking in Carom Café in New York. This year I was satisfied with my performance at the World Cup in the Netherlands. That was my first highlight..., so now, silver at the World championship in Randers, I am very happy with it.
Kozoom/FB: What is your second favorite sport after billiards?
Chien: Soccer
Thank you very much and on behalf of Kozoom, have a good flight home.
Chien/Tiêu: Thank you, see you soon.
Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, world class performance in Denmark
Vietnamese new star: world top ranking in a very short time
The tension on his face when Torbjörn Blomdahl is finishing the final match
The Vietnamese billiard players during the stop in Doha, Qatar: from left Quyet Chien Tran, Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, federation board member Nguyen Minh hoang and player Nguyen Quoc Nguyen