Mind Sakal Achieves More Than a Dream, Wins World Championship – Calls for Snooker to be Freed from Gambling Laws
Eighteen-year-old Thai snooker champion Mind Sakal won the world title in May, becoming the first female player globally to claim both senior and youth world championships in the same year. She called for Thailand to remove snooker from gam
Mind Sakal Panchaya Channa Noi, an 18-year-old Thai snooker player and the latest women's world snooker champion who also holds back-to-back youth women's world titles, returned to Thailand on May 20 at Suvarnabhumi Airport. She was warmly welcomed by Big Hong Sunthon Charumont, chairman of the Thai Billiards Sports Association, along with family and fans.
Mind Sakal is the third Thai female snooker player to achieve world champion status, following Minky Saraburi and Blade Sriracha. She is notably the first female snooker player globally to win both senior and youth world championships in the same year. Her world title victory qualifies her to compete professionally for two seasons and participate in the 2026 Champions of Champions tournament, earning a championship prize of 13,000 pounds, approximately 559,000 baht.
When asked about her achievement, Mind Sakal said she never expected to win the senior world championship before the competition. She aimed simply to enjoy playing and perform her best. Defeating reigning Chinese champion Bi You Lu starting from the semi-final round, she felt she had nothing to lose since she was already the underdog. Playing to her full potential, she acknowledged feeling more thrilled about becoming world champion than she had ever dreamed possible at just 18 years old. She noted that competing in professional world snooker is a dream for many athletes in this sport, and the rapid achievement is unexpected for her. She committed to intensive training to deliver strong results.
Mind expressed gratitude to sponsors, coaches, legendary player Blade Sriracha for mentorship, Thai fans for their support, and her parents for never pressuring her during competition. She vowed to bring home a second championship for Thailand next year.
Mind also remarked that during her competition in China, she observed substantial investment in snooker development and wished to appeal to relevant authorities to free snooker from its association with gambling.
Sunthon Charumont congratulated Mind on achieving two championships simultaneously, highlighting her excellent training statistics and daily century breaks, with two achieved during the China competition. Jason Ferguson, president of the World Billiards Federation, even publicly praised her performance. Moving forward, Mind will compete professionally for two years at an annual cost of 2 million baht, which currently faces budget shortfalls. Charumont appealed for financial support, particularly from Chada Thai Saet, an Uthai Thani MP and fellow hometown resident of Mind.
The billiards association chairman also addressed snooker's status under Thailand's 1935 Gambling Act. He noted that he and many others have spent over 20 years pushing to remove snooker from this legislation and have continuously consulted relevant agencies. While snooker is now widespread globally, Thailand remains the only country where snooker is classified as a gambling sport. He appealed to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who holds authority over this matter, to unlock snooker from these restrictions.
