Billiard player Tran Thanh Luc: 'My biggest opponent is myself'

Tran Thanh Luc is ready for Ho Chi Minh City World Cup 2025 - Photo: UMB

From unknown to top 10 in the world

Last March, Tran Thanh Luc made the world billiards community marvel when he won the World Cup in Bogota (Colombia). On his way to the championship, the player born in 1990 overcame many strong opponents such as Dick Jaspers (world No. 1) in the semi-finals or Tayfun Tasdemir (world No. 7) in the finals.

He became the third Vietnamese player in history to win the World Cup, after Tran Quyet Chien and Tran Duc Minh. The victory in Bogota also helped Thanh Luc rise to world number 5, a ranking that many years ago seemed impossible for him.

Thanh Luc is not a strange name to the domestic billiards community. However, his achievements in the international arena are quite modest. At playgrounds such as the World Cup or the World Championship, he stopped early. Even at the SEA Games arena, he did not have a title.

But from the second half of 2024 onwards, Tran Thanh Luc gradually became more known. Specifically, in September, he surprised everyone by eliminating a series of strong opponents to reach the finals of the World 3-Cushion Carom Billiards Championship held in Binh Thuan . Although he only finished second after losing to Cho Myung Woo (Korea) in the finals, this was still an unexpected achievement.

After that, Thanh Luc continued to advance in the following tournaments. And the peak was the aforementioned World Cup championship. It marked a new milestone for Thanh Luc, even though there was a time when he had to quit competing to go to work to earn a living.

Goal to advance

After his victory in Bogota, Thanh Luc shared with the press his dream of becoming world number 1. This dream also comes with reality when he understands that his opponents will now be more cautious when facing him.

Therefore, despite winning the World Cup and entering the world's top 5, Thanh Luc only aims to reach the semi-finals of the Ho Chi Minh City World Cup. According to Thanh Luc, his biggest opponent in the upcoming tournament is none other than himself.

Thanh Luc shared: "Honestly, I don't feel much pressure. With a World Cup taking place at home, I think I have many advantages. However, the biggest opponent is myself. I have to overcome myself first because in competition, winning or losing has many other factors."

In preparation for the Ho Chi Minh City World Cup, Thanh Luc has recently increased his friendly matches with strong Vietnamese players. He has also been actively training his physical strength to cope with the upcoming intense matches.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tay-co-tran-thanh-luc-doi-thu-lon-nhat-la-chinh-toi-2025051809315643.htm