2009) N.S.T

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Chin Wan is not to be taken lightly

2009/08/30

By Ajitpal Singhajitpalsingh@nst.com.my

Lee Chin Wan is often the butt of jokes by his snooker mates for being fat. But the 95kg (210-pound) player may just have the last laugh.

Chin Wan, a semi-professional player in his late 40s, is making his presence felt in the National Championships at the A-Que Centre in Bandar Sunway.

On Friday, he caused a stir by upstaging National No 3 Lai Chee Wei 3-2 in the first round.

Chin Wan displayed good composure. Despite losing the first frame 64-18, he battled back to down Chee Wei with a 72-45 win in the second frame.

National No 3 Lai Chee Wei lost to Lai Chin Wan.

National player Chee Wei, 23, won the third frame 95-22 for a 2-1 lead, But that was as far as he could go as Chin Wan took the following two frames 56-2 and 72-17.

Chin Wan, once ranked among the national top-16, was playing Ng U Wern in a late second round match yesterday. U Wern thrashed Raihan Noor 3-0 (52-15, 86-19, 69-18) on Friday,

Chee Wei, who is preparing for the Laos Sea Games, was taken to task by Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation secretary Melvin Chia for his poor show.

“He (Chee Wei) did not respect his opponent and took unnecessary risks in the match. I’m very disappointed with his attitude,” said Chia yesterday.

“I hope he will learn from this defeat and train harder for the Sea Games. The National Championship was a perfect opportunity for Chee Wei to gain exposure against the veterans but instead he took things lightly.”

Meanwhile, second seed Thor Chuan Leong produced a dazzling 3-0 (71-38, 79-34, 45-36) victory over qualifier Tan Seng Teck. He was playing two-time national champion Patrick Ooi in a late second round match yesterday. Ooi crushed Tan Tian Aun 3-0 (59-13, 57-8, 71-8) in the first round.

Roslan Yurnalis, a national English Billiards player, advanced to the second round when he swept past Yeoh Sin Teong 3-0 (67-16, 52-32, 85-24).