Taiwan's Hsia Huei-kai (夏揮凱)pocketed the country's first "lucky" gold medal yesterday at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
The 27-year-old beat the world's "pool King" Efren Reyes of the Philippines and fellow Taiwanese Huang Kung-chang (黃焜璋) -- who received the silver medal -- on the way to winning the 8-ball pool singles event at the Dong-ju College Gymnasium.
The unexpected first and second place gave Taiwan a tally of one gold medal, four silvers and six bronzes after the fourth full day of competition at the Games.
Runner-up Huang added his silver medal to those won in rugby 7s, the women's four-oars without coxswain -- and weightlifting, while the nation's men's and women's soft tennis teams each collected bronze medals to add to the four that it had won in judo (2) and weightlifting (2).
Hsia, known as "The Unbeatable King Kong," peaked at exactly the right time to triumph against the world's No. 1 pool player, Reyes, in the final.
"I'm very happy because this is mine and Taiwan's first gold medal. I feel that I am now an international player, having defeated [Reyes] in the final," Hsia said.
"It's a lucky gold medal because of his [Reyes'] mistake on the 5-ball, but obviously I'm very happy about it."
Taking advantage of a bye in the first round, Hsia met Junarto Muhamad in the pre-quarterfinal, sweeping aside the Japanese player to set up a quarterfinal meeting with the dangerous Worawit Suriyasriwan. Hsia brushed past the Thai 9-4 to set up the match of the day with Reyes in the 17-frame-maximum semi.
Hsia got off to a quick start, taking the first three frames and looking full of confidence. Reyes came back to tie the score, but Hsia -- a world junior champion in 1992 and 1993 and a 9-ball champion in 2000 -- responded by taking the next two frames for a 5-3 lead.
Again, Reyes got back into contention and the score moved to 6-7, then 6-8, then 7-8 in Hsia's favor, a not unfamiliar position for the Filipino, who has been practically unbeatable for the last 11 years.
But he made a rare mistake, missing the No. 5 ball and giving Hsia the opportunity to finish him off, which he did with relish.
A clearly dejected-looking Reyes told reporters that error cost him the match but Hsia had played well enough to deserve the victory and a matchup against fellow Taiwan player Huang -- who defeated Indonesian Wieto Siauw 9-5 and Singaporean Boon Tiong-san 9-4 on the road to the final.
Huang -- world junior champion in 1994 and 1995 -- could not cope with Hsia's flawless potting, falling behind 4-1 and then 8-3. He put up a fight but the end was inevitable and Hsia took the match 9-5.
Huang said his countryman and practice partner deserved the gold medal because of the amount of work he had put into his game.
"He deserved to win because he practiced so hard but I felt I had a bit of bad luck because I was always chasing him" and never had the chance to put him under pressure, Huang said.
President Chen Shui-bian (
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