BANGKOK: Thor Chuan Leong still has a chance to match the legendary Sam Chong as the most successful snooker player for Malaysia at the SEA Games stage but the newly crowned 6-red singles champion remains guarded against getting carried away.
Sam Chong has won a total of eight SEA Games gold medals between 1993 and 2011.
Chuan Leong missed out on the chance to claim a second gold following a close 2-3 defeat to Thailand in the men's team event at Muang Thong Thani yesterday.
He lost the first singles match but Lim Kok Leong put Malaysia back in reckoning by winning the second singles.
Chuan Leong partnered Moh Keen Hoo to put Malaysia in the lead.
But the Thais levelled the tie after Chuan Leong also lost his second singles match.
Malaysia conceded defeat as Kok Leong failed to win the deciding singles match.
The Thais advanced to the final where they will face Laos, who beat Myanmar 3-0 in the other semi-final tie.
On Friday, Chuan Leong delivered a gold medal performance to reclaim the SEA Games 6-red singles title with a commanding 5-2 (36-24, 46-0, 70-0, 0-46, 41-28, 0-66, 63-0) win over Thailand's Poramin Danjirakul.
It was his sixth SEA Games gold medal - his first in the 6-red discipline since 2013 and asked whether he was up for the challenge to match Sam Chong's tally, Chuan Leong just shrugged it off.
Chuan Leong said his outlook has shifted as he has progressed through the latter stage of his career, allowing him to approach big matches with less emotional baggage.
"Maybe I'm a bit older now.
"So my mindset is more open, I think differently now. There is always a chance but anything can happen before you play," he said.
The Malaysian snooker players still have a chance to add to gold in the men's 6-red team and snooker singles event next week.
