Gilchrist makes up for previous failures by winning billiards gold

Peter Gilchrist posing for pictures after the medal ceremony. The Laotian women who handed out the medals wanted a picture taken with him. The player gave his supporters a fright at the end when he made a mistake. Luckily, it did not prove costly. ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

VIENTIANE: Team manager Vincent Sum’s reaction said it all. Clutching his head, he looked on the verge of a seizure.

After a 96 break to leave him just two points from victory in Laos yesterday, Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist fumbled his next shot and handed the initiative back to opponent Kyaw Oo of Myanmar.

The score was 98–84 in favour of the England-born Gilchrist in the best-of-five, 100-up point billiards format.

But the Myanmar player could not capitalise on the surprise mistake. It left Gilchrist to pot the red ball to win the fourth frame 101–84 and claim the final 3–1 for his first SEA Games gold medal.

Explained the 41-year-old of his almost costly wobble: “I played the wrong shot. I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard and thought I needed four points to win instead of just two.”

Said Sum later at the Don Chan Palace convention centre, the venue for the tournament: “I was so stressed watching that final frame. The freezing air conditioning in the room didn’t help either.”

Twice a world champion (1994 and 2001), this was Gilchrist’s second attempt at winning the title in the biennial Games after flopping in Korat, Thailand, two years ago. Then, he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Thailand’s Praprut Chatchanasakun, his semi-final opponent yesterday.

“I was actually resigned to defeat after being 1–2 down to him, but I somehow managed to beat him,” said Gilchrist of his 3–2 comeback semi-final win.

With that elusive gold hanging around his lanky 1.95m frame, the player — who became a Singapore citizen in 2006 — could finally relax. As he undid his bow tie, he said: “It feels great and when I arrive at Changi Airport, I can hold my head up high.”

On hand to offer his congratulations and present the medals was Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, who jokingly accused Gilchrist of deliberately scaring the Singapore supporters with his stutter at the end.

While tipped by many to win the gold medal given his impressive resume — Gilchrist also holds the world record for highest break at 1,346 set in 2007 — he was at pains to describe the difficulty of the task. He said: “People think I can just turn up and win. It’s not as simple as that. The competition here is as tough as at the Asian Games.

“Which, coincidentally, is his next target. He said: “That’s a realistic aim for next year and I believe I can win it.”

In his previous appearance at the Asian Games, he managed a disappointing third.

But he was all smiles yesterday as he posed for pictures draped in the Singapore flag. Said Ronnie Chua, honorary secretary of CueSports Singapore: “It’s a great achievement and we would also like to thank the Singapore Recreation Club for all its support.”

Gilchrist plans to donate his medal to SRC for allowing the team to use its facilities to train during the past year for free.

But not his winning cue. Having lost his previous stick last year — he had used it for 12 years — he will keep a close eye on his new cue. He said with a laugh: “Or at least my teammates will.”
jonwong@sph.com.sg