Tran Quyet Chien withdrew from the tournament because a live TV broadcast of a friendly match between him and player Dick Jaspers in Shanghai included a map of China with the "cow tongue line".
The information was confirmed by Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, to VnExpress on September 25.
Accordingly, player Tran Quyet Chien was invited to participate in a friendly competition organized by the International Billiard Union (UMB) in collaboration with the China Billiards and Snooker Federation (CBSA) in Shanghai. The purpose is to promote 3-cushion carom content and welcome CBSA as a member of the Asian Carom Billiard Federation.
Quyet Chien in the final match of the 3-Cushion Billiard Carom HBSF Cup Tour 3. Photo: Duc Dong
In addition to Tran Quyet Chien of Vietnam, there are also players Cho Myung Woo (Korea), Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) and Tayfun Tasdemir (Türkiye). These are athletes in the top 10 on the world rankings. The tournament will take place on September 23-24.
Mr. Nhan said that in the invitation letter as well as information about the tournament on the official website of UMB, there are no elements that influence politics . Therefore, the Department has asked for the opinion of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to send player Tran Quyet Chien to participate. The matches will be broadcast live on digital platforms.
However, on September 23, the match between Quyet Chien and cueist Dick Jaspers, when broadcast live on television, in the slow-motion footage of the cue lines, was interspersed with an image of a map of China that included Vietnam's Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos.
Because player Tran Quyet Chien was sitting with his back to the screen, the image could not be seen. However, after the match, Chien received information from viewers in Vietnam. He immediately contacted coach Nguyen Viet Hoa to ask for his opinion to withdraw from the tournament.
Believing that the projection of a map of China with the "cow tongue line" was inconsistent with the country's image of sovereignty, coach Hoa agreed with Chien to stop participating in the event and asked him to return to Vietnam as soon as possible. The incident was also immediately reported to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports.
"Chien booked a ticket and returned on the night of September 23, arriving in Vietnam at 1:35 a.m. on September 24," said Mr. Nhan.
Commenting on the withdrawal of player Tran Quyet Chien from the tournament, Mr. Nhan said that he and the Department personally agreed with this solution because the organizing committee clearly knew that the participating athlete was from Vietnam but had shown "disrespect". The Department will also send a document to the World Billiard Federation requesting that it seriously consider and respect the participating parties when organizing similar international tournaments.
Tran Quyet Chien was born on February 3, 1984 in Ha Tinh, and was once ranked third in the world. For more than five years, he has been the number one player in Vietnam, reaching the World Cup final four times with two titles.
Le Tuyet
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