Thor and Co avenge defeat with golden show

Marvellous trio: (from left): Lim Kok Leong, Thor Chuan Leong and Moh Keen Hoo.

BANGKOK: The mighty Thor has struck again. And this time he had his Avengers with him.

Despite a loss in the first singles, Thor Chuan Leong, Moh Keen Hoo and Lim Kok Leong produced a stirring comeback to give Malaysia their second snooker gold medal in the Thailand SEA Games.

After Kok Leong lost the first frame, the Malaysian trio turned the tide to shut down Philippines 4-1 to secure the 6-red snooker team gold medal at Thunder Dome in Muang Thong Thani last night.

Malaysia advanced into the final after producing two convincing victories earlier.

They first beat Laos 4-2 in the quarters before sweeping aside Singapore 4-0 in the semi-finals.

The 6-red team event is being contested for the first time at the SEA Games.

It was the second gold medal for Chuan Leong who also won the 6-red individual title last week.

Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Association president Melvin Chua said Kok Leong lost the first singles, and that was the wake-up call needed.

“That shook them up and I think our players found their resolve back.

“Philippines were no pushovers as they had beaten Indonesia in the semis. Indonesia sprang a big upset when they beat hosts Thailand in the quarter-finals earlier.

“We achieved our two-gold target, so I could not asked for more,” said Melvin.

Matches are played in the following order – singles 1, singles 2, doubles, singles 3 and singles 4 – placing emphasis on depth, versatility and composure across the squad.

Chuan Leong and Kok Leong will now look to clinch a bonus gold in the men’s snooker singles competition tomorrow.