Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
NATIONAL cueist Ahmad Taufiq Murni was the top Bruneian performer at the recently concluded 6th CBSA Chinese Billiards World Championship 2023.
In what was Brunei's debut in the event, the 35-year-old finished in 33rd position out of 128 cueists in the main draw at the Yushan Sports Centre.
He had a rough start losing 11-7 go Mongolia's Lkhagvasuren in the first match.
Taufiq then bounced back with an 11-3 victory against a Norwegian opponent and made it back-to-back wins after edging Donelly of South Africa 11-9.
He was then stopped in his tracks by Chinese-Taipei's Sun Jun Tse falling 11-8.
Muhd Iman Riyyat and Ak Aziz Pg Haslini were the other two Bruneians who contested at the competition.
Muhd Iman took care of business after cruising past Russia'a Maksim 9-1 in his first qualifying match.
He then fell 9-1 to Thontdy of Laos before bouncing back with a 9-2 victory over Chi Doing of Vietnam.
His campaign came to an end after dropping 9-2 against Aliaksandr of Belarus 9-2.
On the other hand, Ak Aziz lost 9-0 to Mongolia's Enkhbold before losing 9-2 to another Mongolian, Gatulga, to end his stint.
The tournament attracted a total of 496 players from 41 countries.
Brunei using Chinese Billiards to improve overall game
"Chinese billiards is a challenging game, especially for beginners like us. It's unlike any other and a tiny error can result in defeat," said Pg Anak Haji Abdul Awadi Zool-Hilmi the president of Brunei Cue Sports Association.
"The potting is not as easy as playing American pool or snooker.
"Chinese billiards is playing on a pool table dimensions with snooker sized pockets using tournament pool size balls
"We want to learn Chinese billiards because we find it more challenging, and it improves the overall game techniques and may become very popular in Brunei in the near future," he added.
Brunei hopes not to be left out from their regional counterparts.
"Playing Chinese Billiards will totally change how you play American style billiard," said Awadi.
"By learning Chinese billiards in depth hopefully our players will improve and gain more mental strength to play at the SEA Games.
"Now a lot of regional players are concentrating on Chinese billiards because it helps them prepare for 9-ball and we heard that it will be included for the next SEA Games," added the BCSA president.
"So preparations for the game now is critical for Brunei not to be left out and for a chance to obtain a podium finish," he concluded.
