Keen Hoo wins title Down Under

Sea Games champion Moh Keen Hoo was crowned champion in the recent Bob Hawke AC Australian Snooker Championship in New South Wales.

The 32-year-old earned A$5,000 (RM14,750) for his efforts.

Keen Hoo, who has been struggling with form in recent years, defeated local players Ranjith Murthy (4-0), Dale Kennedy (40), Marc Bullen (4-1), Steve Mifsud (4-2), Alan McCarthy (5-2) and James Mifsud (5-1) to earn a crack at the title.

In the final, the Malaysian quickly established a 4-0 lead over former professional player Kurt Dunham before winning 6-1 for the title.

Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation (MSBF) president Melvin Chia said: “We are pleased with Keen Hoo’s performance and his win shows that our players have the ability to compete against the best in the world.

“We hope that the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Sports Ministry will give us more support in our quest of bringing glory to the country,” said Melvin.

Keen Hoo was touted as the next big thing in Malaysian snooker after winning the Asian junior title in 2004, but he failed to progress accordingly due to personal matters.

The Penang-born is a twotime Sea Games gold medallist which he achieved at the 2007 (Korat) and 2015 (Singapore) editions.

MSBF have been having issues with funding and currently, they do not have a training centre for their athletes.

Their players are now forced to fend for themselves following the NSC’s decision to discontinue the Kita Juara programme after last year’s Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.