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Vietnamese player Tran Thanh Luc defeated Turkish opponent Tayfun Tasdemir 50 - 47 in the final of the 3-cushion carom World Cup in Bogota.
The final match was thrilling, with Thanh Luc leading 49-40 at one point, but still unable to finish the match. Tasdemir went on a 7-point series, narrowing the gap to 47-49. However, a miss of just a few millimeters caused the Turkish player to miss the opportunity. Thanh Luc took advantage of the opportunity, scoring the decisive point, to win 50-47 after 36 turns, this morning, March 3, Hanoi time.
Thanh Luc became the third Vietnamese player to win the World Cup billiards championship, after Tran Quyet Chien and Tran Duc Minh. The 35-year-old player has helped Vietnam continue to dominate the tournament over the past two years, with 5 titles in the last 12 World Cups. No country has had better results than Vietnam during this period.
After scoring the final point in the final, Thanh Luc did not cheer too excitedly. He just raised his hands to the sky and smiled, while the audience at the Palacio de Los Deportes stadium stood up and applauded. Tasdemir lost, but still smiled and went to hug the Vietnamese player.
When he went up to the podium to receive the first prize, Thanh Luc raised both hands high and bowed deeply to the audience as a thank you. The 35-year-old player received a lot of support from Colombian fans in this match, after Quyet Chien won the championship here last year. Although player Bao Phuong Vinh was eliminated in the group stage, he still stayed at the tournament, holding the Vietnamese flag and singing the national anthem with Thanh Luc.
Tran Thanh Luc, born in 1990, from Phu Giao, Binh Duong, is currently the world's number 11 player and Vietnam's number 2 after Quyet Chien. The championship in Bogota will help him enter the world's top 10 for the first time, although he still cannot usurp Vietnam's number 1 position.
Tasdemir, born in 1975, is the world's number 10 player and has won all the world titles, including 5 team titles, 3 World Cups and 1 World Championship. In 3-cushion carom, the World Cup takes place 7 times a year, while the World Championship is played once a year.
Before entering the final, Thanh Luc eliminated world number one Dick Jaspers 50 - 37 after 27 rounds in the semi-finals, early this morning. Last year, he also beat Jaspers 50 - 32/16 in the semi-finals of the World Championship in Binh Thuan, but then lost to Cho Myung-woo in the final. This time, the joy of the 35-year-old player was complete.
TH (according to VnExpress)