HANOI - Jessica Tan's bid to become Singapore's first woman cue sport champion at the SEA Games was scuppered after she lost in the singles 9-ball final at the Ha Dong Gymnasium on Tuesday (May 17).

Tan picked up the silver medal after she fell 7-2 to Rubilen Amit of the Philippines, who claimed her fifth title in the event.

Amit, 40, has reached the women's singles final of the 9-ball event at eight straight editions of the biennial SEA Games, stretching back to the 2005 Games in Manila.

Tan had beaten Thailand's Vuttiphan Kongkaket 7-4 in the quarter-final, and then home player Nguyen Tram Bich 7-2 in the semi-final to raise hopes of a first-time champion for the Republic.

And while the 29-year-old pulled off some impressive shot-making, particularly early on in the match, she also flubbed her lines on more rudimentary shots which handed the initiative to her experienced rival.

Still, her runner-up finish matches Singapore's previous best showing in the event, when Charlene Chai won silver in 2005.

Tan had won the bronze medal in the event at the 2019 Games in the Philippines. Then, she had also picked up a bronze in the doubles, partnering Suvene Ng.