Disability Snooker Stars Set for Thailand!

World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) has today announced the entry list for the snooker competitions to be held for the first time at the upcoming  World Abilitysport Games in Thailand this December.

Following a thorough selection process which has seen players from across the globe earn their places at the prestigious event, it has now been confirmed that five individual tournaments will be held in the snooker category and will cover Groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

To run across three days (5-7 December), each tournament will be a full medal event, with both finalists and the winner of a bronze medal playoff to take home the honours.

The Players

The event will see 36 players from eight countries battle it out across five established classification groups as follows:

Group 1 (5)

• Chatchai Khamklon (Thailand), Darren Taylor (Great Britain), Gary Swift (Great Britain), Kurt Deklerck (Belgium), Numpol Thongpusawan (Thailand)

Group 2 (6)

• Da Chen (China), Lokesh Kumar Gajendra (India), Niwat Kongta (Thailand), Surasit Loisaratrakul (Thailand), Tony Southern (Great Britain), Wei-Te Cheng (Chinese Taipei)

Group 3 (8)

• Adam Wilk (Poland), Andy Lam (Hong Kong), Joe Hardstaff (Great Britain), Kal Mattu (Great Britain), Kit Kennedy (Great Britain), Shayan Shetty (India), Sutat Yamee (Thailand), Thanapol Seekao (Thailand)

Group 4 (9)

• Andy Johnson (Great Britain), Carl Gibson (Great Britain), Chai Matkun (Thailand), David Church (Great Britain), Harvinder Singh (India), Kaisorn Thongla (Thailand), Nigel Brasier (Great Britain), Steve Cartwright (Great Britain), Venkateswaran Subramanian (India)

Group 5 (8)

• Bohumil Vanek (Czech Republic), Dave Bolton (Great Britain), Dave Moore (Great Britain), Dean Simmons (Great Britain), Gerdy Dupont (Belgium), Kitigorn Chaiyachok (Thailand), Robert Marriott (Great Britain), Songkiat Raebankoo (Thailand)

Each Group has a high-quality field and will feature at least one former WDBS champion. with 12 former winners in total. No fewer than 21 currently ranked WDBS players will compete and will be joined by 16 international players from around the world.

Current Group 4 number one William Thomson was also set to compete but unfortunately has been forced to withdraw for medical reasons.

The Games

The groundbreaking event is organised by World Abilitysport, a new body established following the merger of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association.

The Games will be hosted by the Sports Association for the Disabled of Thailand and run from 3-9 December 2023 and will include both an opening and closing ceremony. All matches will be played on tables supplied by Rasson Billiards and distributed by Thailand Pool Tables.

The inclusion of snooker for the first time represents a significant milestone for WDBS which under the guidance of snooker’s world governing body the WPBSA, has created new opportunities for people with disabilities to play snooker competitively since 2015.

“A Groundbreaking Event”

WDBS Chairman Nigel Mawer QPM said: “I am delighted to see such a strong entry for this groundbreaking event, with several of our regular Tour players to be joined by international players for the first time.

“It remains our long-term goal to see snooker restored to the Paralympic Games and to be included in a multisport Games of this stature is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our sport on a global platform.

“I am excited for our players who will represent their country – in many cases for the first time – but also enjoy the experience of being able to travel to a beautiful part of the world. I look forward to welcoming everybody to the event.”

Visit wdbs.info for more information about the World Abilitysport Games over the coming weeks.