Heo Jeong-han wins 3-cushion gold at National Sports Festival; South Jeolla tops overall standings

World-ranked 3-cushion player Heo Jeong-han of South Gyeongsang Province claimed the gold medal in men's carom 3-cushion at the 107th National Sports Festival, while South Jeolla Province topped the overall provincial standings.

The Korea Billiards Federation announced Thursday that the billiards events at the National Sports Festival, held at the Jeju International Convention Center from Sunday through Wednesday, had concluded. Representatives from all 17 cities and provinces competed across seven official disciplines and five exhibition events.

Heo defeated Cha Myeong-jong in the men's carom 3-cushion final to claim the title. Having been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 1-cushion event, Heo bounced back by winning gold in his signature discipline.

In men's carom 1-cushion, Choi Wan-young of Gwangju took the top spot, defeating Heo in the quarterfinals before beating Kim Haeng-jik of South Jeolla Province in the final. Jeong Ye-seong of North Gyeongsang Province earned bronze medals in both the 1-cushion and 3-cushion events.

South Jeolla Province claimed the overall provincial title, powered by Park Yong-jun — who won gold in snooker and silver in English billiards — along with Kim Haeng-jik's silver in 1-cushion and Hwang Yong-do's bronze in pocket 9-ball. Gwangju finished second and South Chungcheong Province third.

In snooker, Park defeated Heo Se-yang of South Chungcheong Province in the final to win gold. In the English billiards final, Lee Dae-gyu of Seoul beat Park to claim the title.

In pocket 9-ball, Kwon Ho-jun of South Chungcheong Province won the men's gold and Seo Seo-a of Incheon took the women's gold. Gwangju claimed the mixed doubles title.

Meanwhile, on the final day of competition, the Korea Billiards Federation held a signing ceremony in support of expanding the billiards program at the National Sports Festival, attended by federation President Kang Jin-mo and the heads of all 17 provincial associations. The federation plans to seek official status for five events currently held as exhibition disciplines, including women's 3-cushion and under-18 men's and women's carom and pocket events.