HOCHIMINH CITY - The Vietnamese player Quyet Chien Tran has conquered the Asian three cushion title in HoChiMinh. With that victory, Tran climbed to the world's top three, which is led by Dick Jaspers and Frédéric Caudron. In the final of the Asian championship, Tran beat young Korean Myung-Woo Cho 40-38 in 19 innings. On the stage were also Dong-Koong Kang and Nguyen Thung Hau Do. The championship was played in the Nguyen Du stadium in HoChiMinh.
The final was a real thriller: Myung-Woo Cho led 20-16 at the break, but in the second part Quyet Chien Tran was the much better player. He first ran out to 38-22 and eventually won with a two-points difference: 40-38. In the semifinals, Tran won in an excellent match against Nguyen Trung Hau Do: 40-29 in 14. Myung-Woo Cho defeated his compatriot Dong-Koong Kang in the shoot-out: 40-40 in 20, 1-0 in the extension.
Tran placed himself in the last four by a victory over Sung-Won Cho (40-25 in 18), Nguyen Trung Hau Do by beating Jae-Ho Cho (40-26 in 23). Myung-Woo Cho defeated Sung Uk Oh in the shoot-out (40-40 in 13, then 3-3 and 2-1), Dong-Koong Kang beat Anh Vu Duong after 40-40, 7-2 in the extension.
In the pre-rounds, Tran survived a match against George Lteif: after 34-23, the Vietnamese won 40-39. And also against Minh Cam Ma, Tran was close to elimination: 40-40 in 20, 4-1 in the shoot-out. One of the best matches was the Korean fight between Sung-Won Choi and HaengJik Kim: Choi won 40-19 in 13.
The world ranking is now:
1 Dick Jaspers 454
2 Frédéric Caudron 440
3 Quyet Chien Tran 318
4 Semih Sayginer 285
5 Tayfun Tasdemir 267
6 Marco Zanetti 264
7 Eddy Merckx 258
8 Jae-Ho Cho 247
9 Murat Naci Coklu 220
10 Jérémy Bury 214.
The Asian podium with Quyet Chien Tran, Myung-Woo Cho, Dong-Koong Kang and Nguyen Trung Hau Do
Quyet Chien Tran on his way to victory in the final match