25th SEA Games, Laos

(Kpl) A five star hotel Don Chan Palace will be a venue for the competition of snooker and billiard during the 25th SEA Games (9-18 December), according to a contact signed at the hotel last weekend.
Deputy President of the National Snooker and Billiard Federation has confirmed the readiness of the Lao players.

Signatories to the agreement on renting space and equipment of the hotel for hosting the snooker and billiard competition were Deputy President of the National Sports Committee, Mr. Somphou Phongsa, or Snooker and Billiard and Don Chan Palace?s Assistant Executive Manager, Ms. Angeline Khor. The ceremony was witnessed by concerned officials and press people.

?Snooker and billiard are among the 25 sports to be competed during the 25th SEA Games,? said Mr. Somphou. ?The government has agreed to choose the hotel because it is a standard hotel in Vientiane,? added Mr. Somphou.

Deputy President of the National Snooker and Billiard Federation, Mr. Pasithsay Luangkhoth, said that the federation so far had completed selecting 16 national athletes and they now were training.

More than 100 athletes from Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei will compete in many categories such as single?s snooker, billiard single, double, pool 9 single, double, pool 8 single, pool 9 women?s single, pool 8 women?s single and carom events. The competition will start on 10-17 December.

Snooker star Sitthideth Satbieng is clocking up more experience in the region as he eyes a gold medal in the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane in December.

Sitthideth rocketed to the top of the sport in Laos after winning no less than three gold medals in the men's singles, men's doubles and men's team (three players) events in the eighth National Games in Champassak province last December.

He represented Savannakhet province in the games.

He worked as a resident professional at a snooker club in Bangkok , Thailand , for two years, and has competed in international competition in Division 2. Events in this division are held five times a year.

He will return to the Thai club after competing in the SEA Games.

The Lao Billiard and Snooker Federation lacks the funding to hold national snooker competitions several times a year and also lacks equipment.

Sitthideth, 26, was born in Xeno village in Savannakhet's Outhoum-phone district and began playing when he was 13 years old.

He and his teammates train on the tables at the federation's facilities in Vientiane every day under the guidance of Lao trainers.

They are expecting a Thai coach to arrive to improve their skills and have been training since March, living in the federation's dormitory.

The Lao snooker starting team consists of three women and seven men. There are a further five substitutes among the men, selected by the federation at the Eighth National Games.

The players come from Vientiane and from Savannakhet and Champassak provinces.

Sitthideth said he had learnt his techniques from top players in Thailand .

He said he was gaining in confidence and thought he had a chance of winning a medal in the SEA Games.

However, it would be difficult to beat the Thai team, which has the top-ranked players in the region.

Sitthideth and his teammates will be in Thailand from August to September for pre-games training.

In the meantime, the federation will hold the Snooker Open in Vientiane next month, with competitions for young up-and-comers as well as an open and masters meet.

The Lao snooker team currently occupies seventh place in the South East Asian rankings.

Federation secretary Mr Arsa Mahisanant said the Lao players had the chance of a podium finish at the SEA Games if they could avoid an early showdown with strong players from Malaysia , the Philippines and Thailand .

Events will comprise men's and women's singles and men's and women's doubles.

Apart from snooker, the tables will also be busy with billiard and pool events in the same categories.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

The Lao Bowling and Lao Snooker Federations have announced plans to start building new bowling and snooker training centres in Vientiane next month, in preparation for the 25 th SEA Games in 2009.

The federations will spend more than 9 billion kip (US$1 million) to build the two training centres, which are due for completion at the end of the year. Bowling and snooker equipment will be bought from China at a cost of a further 6 billion kip (US$700,000).

“We will organise bowling and snooker events once the centres are built, to select the best players to compete in the SEA Games,” said the President of the Lao Snooker Federation and Secretary to the President of the Lao Bowling Federation, Mr Pasithxay Luangkhot.

The bowling training centre will be of an international standard and consist of 24 lanes. The snooker training centre will have 20 international competition sized tables.

“The Vientiane Bowling Club and the Lao Snooker Federation Club are not up to standard and are too small to stage competitions at the SEA Games level,” said Mr Pasithxay.

In the meantime, the Bowling Federation has invited the best bowling teams from Luang Prabang, Vientiane , Savannakhet and Champassak provinces to participate in the Deputy Prime Minister's Cup, to be held at the Vientiane Bowling Club on February 23, in celebration of the 59 th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Army.

The competition will consist of men's and women's singles tournaments in the open, under-15 and under-19 categories.

“We will select the best bowlers during this event to represent Vientiane at the 8 th National Games in Champassak province in December,” he said.

The Snooker Federation plans to organise a series of friendly men's singles snooker competitions at the federation's club in March.

“In May, we will select the best snooker players at the Vientiane Mayor's Cup to represent Vientiane at the 8 th National Games,” said Mr Pasithxay.

Lao bowling and snooker teams took part in the 24 th SEA Games in Thailand last year but were unsuccessful in their medal attempts.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes