Busan Asiad gold winner Mongkol dies
The Thai billiard sports scene lost one of its most colourful characters when former Asian Games gold medallist Mongkol Kanfaklang passed away yesterday.
The former Thailand snooker and billiards champion’s national identity card put his age at 80, but his family members insisted that Mongkol was 86 when he breathed his last in Bangkok.
His funeral rites are taking place at Wat Pichai, near Nida intersection on Seri Thai Road.
Mongkol, better known to his fans as “Pu [grandpa] Tuek”, became a household name in the country when he won the first Asian Games billiard sports gold medal for Thailand at Busan 2002.
He is also believed to be the oldest athlete ever to win a gold medal in the Asian Games.
His triumph in Busan in the English Billiards doubles event, in which he partnered Praprut Chaithanasakul, came at a time when he was 72.
A few months after his success in the Asian Games, Mongkol made more headlines by marrying an 18-year-old Burmese employee of a club where he was a regular.
He also ventured into a number of businesses but none flourished.
Mongkol was later appointed as a team national English Billiards coach and he continued to play competitively for a few more years before the age starting taking its toll.
Suffering from a number of illnesses, Mongkol was restricted to bed after a fall three months ago and an infected wound in the end proved fatal.
Mongkol, over the years, coached many leading Thai players with former world and Asian champion Noppadon Noppachorn being the most prominent among them.