Kyaw Oo, third place winner at the September 4-9 World Billiards Championship in Singapore, practises at the Myanmar Billiards Federation’s training room at Aung San Indoor Stadium, Yangon. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

MYANMAR’S Kyaw Oo finished third in the 36th World Billiards Champion-ship in Singapore on September 9 but not before knocking out both the reigning world champ and Asia titleholder.

Kyaw Oo climbed clear of the 36-strong field to make it to the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Rupesh Shah of India.

Competing in the points format, all three Myanmar entrants made it to the final 16, although Aung San Oo and Nay Thway Oo bowed out of the competition at the hands of India’s Ashok Shadlya – the other eventual finalist – and Thailand’s Thawat Sujaritthurakarn respectively.

Kyaw Oo knocked out defending world champion Pankaj Advani of India 4-2 before demolishing Singapore’s reigning Asia titleholder Peter Gilchrist 4-1. Rupesh, however, was clearly ahead of the pack and thrashed Kyaw Oo 5-0 in their semi before sinking countryman Ashok 6-4 in the final the same day.

Kyaw Oo told The Myanmar Times upon his return to Yangon last week he was amazed to have made the semifinals.

“Really, the opponents I knocked out in pre-quarterfinal (Advani) and quarterfinal (Gilchrist) were more skilful than me. But the conditions on the day helped me advance,” Kyaw Oo said.

Considered the underdog in both matches, Kyaw Oo said the weight of his opponents’ world and Asia crowns put them under significantly more pressure.
Coach Dr Min Naing said that same pressure came home for Kyaw Oo in his semifinal, causing the 39-year-old to lose concentration against the in-form Rupesh.

“The semifinal was different from his earlier games. He went into the games with Advani and Peter with a ‘do or die’ attitude as if he had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Dr Min Naing said. “But in the semi, he really wanted to win and that created a lot more stress.”

He added that had Kyaw Oo kept his cool, the world title would have been there for the taking. “The players he defeated in the earlier stages are much better than Rupesh,” Dr Min Naing said.

The 2005 Myanmar Coach of the Year said the tournament had been full of surprises with some of the world’s most seasoned competitors crumbling against much younger players.

Ashok’s victory over seven-time world champion Geet Sethi in the quarterfinals had been especially unexpected.

“I thought the more international exposure players have, the more they can control the pressure. But some famous players just couldn’t make it at the tournament, including Kyaw Oo.

“So my logic seems to be wrong. It really confuses me how it worked out,” Dr Min Naing said.

He added that the experience gained from the six-day tournament, which drew players from 12 countries, would be valuable for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Bangkok this December.

“Our players met many opponents from very strong countries such as England, India and Singapore. That experience was significant,” he said.

Dr Min Naing predicted the SEA Games this year was almost certain to be tougher than the Manila edition in 2005, when Myanmar picked up a gold and silver.

“At previous Games, a place in the final of the doubles event was almost certain for us because Myanmar has two high-performers in Kyaw Oo and Aung San Oo. But this year’s competition could be more difficult as we’ve seen a number of skilful players coming up,” he said.

Aung San Oo and Aung Htay will represent Myanmar at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau from October 27 to November 3.