LONG THANH CITY - Vietnamese player Duc Anh Chien Nguyen is longingly looking forward to his return to the World Cup events and is one of the major absentees at the World Championship in Sharm El Sheikh. The 38-year-old runner up from the last World Championship in 2019, where he was a finalist against Torbjörn Blomdahl, cannot travel for the time being and had to cancel the 'double' in Sharm El Sheikh with the other well-known Vietnamese players. ''I really miss it so much that we can't play in Egypt with the world top'', he confessed from his holiday address in Nha Trang City, where he is staying with his wife and son this week.
Duc Chien, as his nickname is, is mainly working and practicing during these weeks without tournaments in his billiard center in Long Thanh City, a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City. The club has 12 match tables and 6 small billiards. Duc Chien is the owner there: ''I play there every day with people who come to play billiards in my club.'' This week only, he is on a short-term holiday at sea with his wife Oc Tieu and his 7-year-old son Duc Anh Quan Nguyen. ''I feel unhappy without billiards, but I can nspend a lot of time with my family now.''
Duc Chien grew up in an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City in his young years and started his billiard career at the age of nine. He now lives with his family outside the city in a beautiful, detached house with a garden.
The number 16 of the world ranking list, thanks mainly to the 81 ranking points he received for his second place at the 2019 World Championship, is not able to defend his position in Sharm El Sheikh. ''It's impossible for us, the Vietnamese, to travel outside our home land, because we are not allowed to fly back afterwards'', he tells us. ''Look at Quyet Chien Tran and Quoc Nguyen Nguyen, the other guys, who were in Korea this summer and had to stay there for 3 months, because there were no flights to Vietnam. We all hope the situation will improve next year.''
Duc Chien made his breakthrough at the World Championship in Randers, Denmark: he defeated among others Tayfun Tasdemir and Dani Sánchez in the knockouts, was the better of Semih Sayginer in the semi-final 40-36 in 21 and was only beaten by Torbjörn Blomdahl in the final 40-37 in 22. After that, Duc Chien also reached the semi-final at the World Cup in Veghel.
Kozoom spoke with Duc Anh Chien Nguyen in the week of the World Cup in Egypt and in the run-up to the World Championship in Sharm El Sheikh.
Kozoom/Frits Bakker: How is the situation in Vietnam regarding Covid, can you travel freely inside your homeland, are there many rules and measures?
Duc Chien: The same as everywhere else in the world, we are now worried about the new virus, Omicron. We were on the right track, although still many people in the hospitals, but not so many dead people. The shops and the clubs are open for most of the days. In our country, 70 percent of the people have been vaccinated, not because the rest of people refuse, but because there are not enough vaccines. My country is trying to come back from the crisis.
Kozoom/FB: How is your position in the rankings affected? Mr. Barki and the UMB have decided that ranking points of the Vietnamese players will not be taken away, because they cannot play in Sharm El Sheikh.
Duc Chien: We are very happy about that, because we cannot defend our position. I felt frustrated for a while and even thought of withdrawing. But the UMB is helping us a lot with this decision. Tran is now still sixth on the ranking list. He will probably stay there. I hope the forced stop for us will end before the next World Cups. After that, I will try to move up in the rankings.
Kozoom/FB: How is your family under this situation?
Duc Chien: My wife Tieu has a business online selling goods. She is a big fan in billiards and often travels with me to the tournaments. My son does his studies online every day. We abide by all the rules when we are outside, where everyone wears masks and keeps distance from each other.
Kozoom/FB: Did you follow the matches in the Veghel World Cup and now in Sharm El Sheikh? And with what kind of feelings will you watch the World Cup and World championship without the Vietnamese?
Duc Chien: I watch regularly and I'm surprised by some new players who play strong matches, like Tolgahan Kiraz, Dutchman Jorissen and Jun Tae Kim. My favourite for the World Championship is Blomdahl. He is one of the players I like to watch. And of course, we look at Sharm El Sheikh differently without our players. We hope to return soon.
Thanks, Duc Chien for the interview, many regards to Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, Quyet Chien Tran and the other players from your country.
Duc Chien: Hello and good luck to all the players in Sharm El Sheikh. And thanks to Mr. Barki and the UMB for what they were doing for the Vietnamese players in these hard times. I want to wish everyone the best in Sharm El Sheikh and stay safe.
Vietnamese Duc Chien Nguyen (left) on the World championship podium with Torbjörn Blomdahl, Samet Sidhom and Semih Sayginer
Duc Chien making his billiards hand at the beach: I really miss it so bad
Duc Chien with his wife and son in the Vietnamese sea
Duc Chien at the World Championship in Randers where he took silver medal in the final with Torbjörn Blomdahl