Billiard player Tran Quyet Chien withdrew from the tournament in China because of the 'cow tongue line'.

Tran Quyet Chien withdrew from the tournament because a map of China, including the "nine-dash line," was superimposed onto the live television broadcast of his friendly match against Dick Jaspers in Shanghai.

This information was confirmed to VnExpress on September 25th by Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports .

Accordingly, billiards player Tran Quyet Chien was invited to participate in a friendly competition organized by the World Billiards Federation (UMB) in collaboration with the China Billiards and Snooker Federation (CBSA) in Shanghai. The purpose was to promote 3-cushion carom billiards and to celebrate CBSA becoming a member of the Asian Carom Billiards Federation.

A decisive battle in the final of the HBSF Cup Tour 3 3-Cushion Carom Billiards tournament. Photo: Duc Dong

Besides Tran Quyet Chien from Vietnam, the tournament also features players Cho Myung Woo (South Korea), Dick Jaspers (Netherlands), and Tayfun Tasdemir (Türkiye). These are athletes currently ranked in the top 10 in the world. The tournament will take place over two days, September 23-24.

Mr. Nhan stated that neither the invitation nor the tournament information on the official UMB website contained any politically charged elements. Therefore, the Department sought 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 23rd, during the live broadcast of the match between Quyet Chien and Dick Jaspers, a slow-motion replay of the billiard balls included an image of a map of China that encompassed Vietnam's Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos.

Because player Tran Quyet Chien was seated with his back to the screen, the image was not visible. However, after the match, Chien received information from viewers in Vietnam. He immediately contacted coach Nguyen Viet Hoa to ask for permission to withdraw from the tournament.

Considering that displaying a map of China with the "nine-dash line" was inconsistent with the image of national sovereignty, coach Hoa agreed to have Chien withdraw from the event and requested 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 his ticket and returned on the night of September 23rd, arriving in Vietnam at 1:35 AM on September 24th," Mr. Nhan said.

Commenting on billiards player Tran Quyet Chien's withdrawal from the tournament, Mr. Nhan said that he and the Department personally agreed with this solution because the organizers were well aware that the participating athlete was from Vietnam but had shown "disrespect." The Department will also send a document to the World Billiards Federation requesting that they seriously consider and respect all participating parties when organizing similar international tournaments.

Tran Quyet Chien was born on February 3, 1984, in Ha Tinh province and was once ranked third in the world. For over five years, he has been Vietnam's number one billiards player, reaching the World Cup finals four times and winning two titles.

Le Tuyet

Vnexpress.net