Heyball Pool player Jason Theron wins SA’s 3rd medal at the World Games
At 42 years old, Theron has added to South Africa's medal tally, marking the country’s third silver medal at this prestigious event
South Africa's Heyball Pool player Jason Theron competing at the World Games in Chengdu, China. Picture: TheWorldGames/Facebook.
JOHANNESBURG – Jason Theron clinched the Mixed Heyball Pool silver medal for Team SA at the World Games in Chengdu, China, on Thursday. In a thrilling final, Theron narrowly missed out on gold, losing to Zhang Taiyi of China with a score of 3-5.
Heyball, also known as Chinese 8-ball pool, is a widely enjoyed cue sport in China, combining elements of snooker and American pool. The game is played on a snooker table using American pool balls and features a distinctive set of rules and gameplay.
At 42 years old, Theron has added to South Africa's medal tally, marking the country’s third silver medal at this prestigious event. The bronze medal was awarded to China’s Tang Chunxiao.
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At the 2022 Games in Birmingham, USA, Team SA returned with one medal – a gold by canoeist Andy Birkett – with a similar-sized squad, 21 athletes over 10 sports.
This year’s edition of The World Games is being held from 7 to 17 August with 110 countries competing at the Games in Chengdu, totalling around 5,000 athletes.
Team South Africa is represented by a squad of 20 athletes across eight sports.
These are the 12th World Games, a multi-code event for several sports and disciplines that are not in the Olympic Games programme, with the event taking place every four years.
This is South Africa's ninth successive participation at the Games, having accumulated 20 medals from its previous eight appearances, with the most at the 1997 World Games in Lahti, Finland.