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World's best: Duong Anh Vu takes aim during the men's singles carom 3 final against South Korea's Cho Jae-ho at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games held in HCM City last year. — VNS Photo Tien Thanh |
"The tournament brings together the world's best players," Vu, who recently dropped to 21st place, said.
"So my goal is to reach the knock-out and improved my ranking."
Forty eight players will play in 16 groups from which one each will qualify for the knock-out. Another Vietnamese Ly The Vinh, who won the Southeast Asian Games gold medal in 1997, will also take part.
"This is also good preparation for the Asian Games (ASIAD) in Guangzhou next month."
Viet Nam, South Korea, and Japan are the three strongest Asian countries in the format and will be the main contenders for medal places.
Vu's main opponents at the ASIAD, South Koreans Kym Kyung-roul, Choi Sung-won, and Heo Jung-han and Japan's Ryuuji Umeda, will also compete in the world champs.
After the event, the HCM City-born will play in the Three Cushion Masters in France before flying to Guangzhou for the ASIAD.
The three-cushion event offers Viet Nam one of their best medal hopes. At the 2006 ASIAD in Doha, Qatar, Vu had to settle for a silver medal after losing to Umeda in the final.
Vu, 30, also won a silver medal at 2009 the Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam. — VNS
