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Taiwan potting to the top at Games

Hsia Hui-kai stands on top of Asia's 8-ball Pool World, at Dongju College Gymnasium in Busan, yesterday. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Pool shark Hsia Hui-kai (夏揮凱) is officially Asia's biggest fish in 8-ball pool, having won Taiwan's first gold medal at the 14th Asian Games in the event earlier this week.

Beating the Philippines' and world No. 1 Efren "The Pool King" Reyes on the way to the final was one of the upsets of the Games so far.

The 27-year-old from Kaohsiung then went on to beat his practice partner and friend Huang Chun-kun (黃焜璋) in the final 9-5, for a one-two finish.

Speaking through an interpreter, Hsia said winning gold for his country was more important than playing for cash on the Taiwan and Asian tour.

"It doesn't matter whether it's competing for gold or for cash, you still want to win, but of course playing between country and country means there is more glory for winning," Hsia said.

Financial incentives

On the other hand, the incentives are pretty good too. For winning gold, Hsia will pick up NT$2 million, and silver medalist Huang's take home pay at the end of just over a week of competition at the Games is a cool million.

Pingtung native Huang, 24, said he was pleased with the result of the competition even though he lost.

"Up to the final we competed against foreigners and so we did our best to win but with both of us in the final, it was a win-win situation even though it was hard to fight Hsia.

"I had two chances to reverse the result but I missed them and Hsia cleared up and won the contest," he said.

"There can only be one world champion, not two, so only one of us could go to heaven this time round. But I don't look at it as losing a million, I see it as gaining a million."

Huang said he would be getting married next month and the money was timely.

"My girlfriend is very happy about all this," he said.

Asked what his reaction would have been if he had lost to his friend, Hsia said, "Of course I would have been disappointed, maybe for 20 minutes or so, but any match [at this level] can go either way so I would not be too unhappy for long."

Good for sport in Taiwan

Both players said they expected their victories at the Asian Games would make their sport more popular in Taiwan and perhaps make the game a more viable alternative as a career choice for younger players.

Speaking of the attitude toward sports in general and pool in particular in Taiwan, they said their families had initially been against them going to snooker halls and Hsia said that he was banned from going.

"I went in secret and it was not until I won a championship that they agreed with my choice of career," Hsia said.

Huang said his parents had been worried that he might fall into bad ways if he went to snooker halls because many people thought they were a hangout for gangsters.

"I didn't learn anything bad. All I wanted to do was practice," he said.

Interestingly, Hsia said that if he had not been a pool player he would have gone to school and become a professor but would not stop his children from playing the game if that's what they wanted to do.

Huang said he would want to be a pool hall or Internet cafe owner if he had not been a pool player.

"I would have been a businessman doing something I liked," he said.
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