Vietnam wins first-ever world women's billiard championship medal

Vietnamese billiards player Nguyen Hoang Yen Nhi. Photo by Facebook/Nguyen Hoang Yen Nhi

Nhi had a slow start in the semifinal on Thursday, scoring only one point in the first six shots, while Sorensen continuously scored and led 9-1. Nhi at one point reduced the gap to three points and the score was 11-14, but the Danish player was superior as she won 30-15 after 32 shots.

Sorensen reached the final and beat five-time world champion Therese Klompenhouwer of the Netherlands. Nhi and Karina Jetten, another Dutch player, shared the bronze medal, marking the first time Vietnam has won a medal at a women’s billiards world championship.

The UMB Women's World Three-cushion Championship has been held since 1999. This year's tournament took place in Blois, France, from Sept. 10 to 12. Vietnam has two players participating in the tournament, Yen Nhi and Phung Kien Tuong, who was eliminated in the round of 16.

This year’s tournament missed many top female players who are playing in the Professional Billiards Association (PBA) with bigger prize money, such as Sruong Pheavy, Lee Mee-rae, Kim Ga-young and Kim Se-yeon. The PBA is considered an opposing organization to the World Billiards Union (UMB), as players who compete in PBA tournaments will be banned from competing in UMB’s competitions for two years. A PBA world champion receives about $52,000, while a UMB world champion gets $11,000.

Nhi, 25, is the daughter of billiards player Nguyen Thanh Long, who won the 2005 SEA Games gold medal. In 2021, she won the first three-cushion tournament for women in Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City.

With the UMB world bronze medal, Nhi received about $4,400.