Vietnam Billiard Federation requests tournament organizers in China to remove image of 'cow tongue line'

" We request that the World Billiards Federation (UMB) and the Asian Carom Billiards Federation (ACBC) review the incident objectively and accurately, and request the China Billiards & Snooker Association (CBSA), the Organizing Committee and the media unit of the above event to give a satisfactory answer, remove all false images, and restore the purity, nobility and non-politics of sports ," the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation (VBSF) officially announced.

VBSF said that on September 23, the friendly 3-cushion Carom tournament in Shanghai was organized under the coordination of the World Billiards Federation (UMB) and the China Billiards & Snooker Association (CBSA). This event aims to celebrate CBSA's joining the Asian Carom Billiards Confederation (ACBC) and promote this sport in the world's most populous country.

Tran Quyet Chien withdrew from a friendly tournament in China to protest the image of the 'cow tongue line' map. (Illustration photo)

Tran Quyet Chien is one of four athletes invited to participate alongside Dick Jaspers (Netherlands), Tayfun Tasdemir (Türkiye) and Cho Myung-woo (Korea). The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports - the athlete's management unit - issued the decision to send Quyet Chien to participate.

On the first day of competition, the organizers used the CBSA logo (with a map of China) to include the Paracel and Spratly Islands of Vietnam and broadcast it live on television at Quyet Chien's competition table with Dick Jaspers. VBSF took notice of the incident and decided to stop Tran Quyet Chien from competing and return to Vietnam immediately.

In a document sent to the World Billiard Federation, VBSF affirmed that the reason Tran Quyet Chien withdrew from the competition was because the event organizers used images that were not true about Vietnam's territorial sovereignty. Competing in a context where the image of the Fatherland's territorial sovereignty is being violated like that is unacceptable for Tran Quyet Chien as well as any other Vietnamese or foreign athlete.

" After discovering this detail, coach Nguyen Viet Hoa and athlete Tran Quyet Chien reported to the leadership of the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation (VBSF). The VBSF Board of Directors quickly consulted and decided that Tran Quyet Chien would stop competing and return to Vietnam on the evening of September 23 ," VBSF wrote in the announcement.

Also this afternoon (September 28), the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City issued a notice about this incident, in which it affirmed that " athlete Tran Quyet Chien's actions are highly appreciated for their political awareness, civic responsibility, and national pride ". At the same time, it requested the World Billiards Federation to remind the countries hosting the tournament to comply with the law and be neutral on political issues.

Van Hai

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