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SEA Games: Singapore snooker pair are good as gold again

KUALA LUMPUR — They have a combined 17 SEA Games medals but only two of those carry a golden hue.

Chan Keng Kwang and Tey Choon Kiat celebrate their gold medal. Photo: Flona Hakim/Sport Singapore

Chan Keng Kwang and Tey Choon Kiat celebrate their gold medal. Photo: Flona Hakim/Sport Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR — They have a combined 17 SEA Games medals but only two of those carry a golden hue.

On Wednesday night (Aug 23), Tey Choon Kiat and Chan Keng Kwang both climbed to the top of the podium again after winning the men’s snookers doubles gold.

The pair beat their Thai opponents Phaitoon Phonbun and Issara Kachaiwong 3-1 in the final at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre to clinch the Republic’s first gold in the sport at this Games.

Their victory ended an eight-year wait for a gold in the event for Singapore as well as much longer personal droughts.

Chan’s only gold came in 2005 when he won the nine-ball pool singles and the 37-year-old was delighted to win together with Tey, 49, whose sole gold stretches all the way back to 1995 when he was part of the victorious nine-ball pool team.

Remarkably, this is Tey’s 10th Games and Chan’s seventh.

“It does mean quite a lot because both of us are getting on with age already and this will probably be our last or second-last Games,” Chan told TODAY. “So to win it is definitely a bonus for both of us.”

It is their second medal as a pair, having won bronze in the eight-ball pool doubles in 2005 and Chan’s first in snooker, which he switched to only three years ago.

“I’ve never won the gold in the snooker event… so it’s actually a dream come true for the two of us,” he added. “It is definitely special because snooker has always been our passion… We started off playing as young kids watching the professionals playing on television and they inspired us to perform, so it feels really good that we can win in the snooker doubles.”

For Tey, third time’s a charm after picking up bronzes in the same event in 1999 and 2015, where he was one half of the side that lost to Malaysia’s Rory Thor and Moh Keen Hoo on home soil.

He exacted revenge this time as they vanquished the defending champions 3-2 in the semi-finals en route to glory, before beating the Thai favourites in the final.

“Actually, we trained hard (for the last two years) but we are here just to enjoy the process, because at the past few SEA Games, we put too much pressure on ourselves and didn’t perform as we expected,” he said.

“So this time, along the way (in our matches), we just laughed as we played.”

Chan credited his partner for his crucial contribution in getting them to the final.

“We could have won 3-1 against Malaysia but I made a few mistakes in the fourth frame, so he came back and played a couple of good shots and we managed to clinch the match in the deciding frame,” he recalled.

“In the final, the Thais were not playing at their best… we were just trying to enjoy the game and hopeful of winning gold for Singapore.”

Singapore’s last gold in the event came in 2009 when Ang Boon Chin and Lim Chun Kiat emerged triumphant.

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SEA Games 2017

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