The Cathay Cyclone
Ng On Yee from Hong Kong is one of the most promising players on the Ladies Tour. Having won the World Championship three times in 2015, 2017 and 2018, she now wants to accomplish what no other female player has done before and compete on the men's professional tour. This would be a wonderful achievement if it happens and prove that men and women can compete on an equal footing. Ng was so close to this before when she nearly beat Alan McManus in the World Championship qualifiers in April but as she has admitted since, her nerves got to her at the end of the match. Aged only 28, On Yee has plenty to learn of how to make the transition to the men's tour but her career history proves that the clear potential is there. Having won the IBSF Under-21 World Championship, World Championship and Six Reds Championship, medals in the Asian Games for Six Reds as well as three World Championships, one would feel that she is painfully close to crossing the winning line.
However nothing is easy in what is considered to be a male dominated sport. One of the most problematic areas for any female player is the venue choice for their tour, Often playing in small venues with fewer spectators in the audience, can be a real hindrance for a player who then tries to reverse this scenario and play on a grander scale. Ng knows she will have to work on this and battle the mind-set needed to achieve success. Her main problem is consistency and this is a problem that her coach Wayne Griffiths concedes. Like a flickering candle, her form moves between bright and dim with a recent high break of 122 but now in a second attempt at the Q School, I really hope she can do it. Both Ng and my friend Reanne Evans deserve success and if male players could just let down their guard and take on the ethos of someone like Alan McManus who commented on his match before playing Ng that :
"I've been a pro nearly 30 years and the last time I played against a lady player in a tournament was in my amateur days.....there were a couple of good players then. In terms of playing a lady, that won't affect me."
However her number 1 status as a female player is under threat amid an uncertain future for billiards sports at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. This is the life blood for Ng as this is where she practices and improves her game with her coach. Like the institute in Sheffield, players depend on a good place to practice and if this is taken away and the spotlight taken off your sport then it is very hard to develop. I hope that that this unwise idea doesn't happen and that On Yee can achieve a lifetime dream and show that snooker can truly be a sport that can both men and women can compete against in parallel.
Ng is a trail blazer and like her predecessor in the 1980s, Alison Fisher, she is pleasure to write to about. Female player really need more media attention and not just when they get a chance of glory. Their sport needs to widely televised and written about in mainstream newspapers. This week Ng is competing at the Q School and within touching distance of glory but many hurdles still have to be crossed if she is to reach that winning line and as we know disappointment can be very damaging to your progression in our game.
https://youtu.be/Y8LTFh3RFok
However nothing is easy in what is considered to be a male dominated sport. One of the most problematic areas for any female player is the venue choice for their tour, Often playing in small venues with fewer spectators in the audience, can be a real hindrance for a player who then tries to reverse this scenario and play on a grander scale. Ng knows she will have to work on this and battle the mind-set needed to achieve success. Her main problem is consistency and this is a problem that her coach Wayne Griffiths concedes. Like a flickering candle, her form moves between bright and dim with a recent high break of 122 but now in a second attempt at the Q School, I really hope she can do it. Both Ng and my friend Reanne Evans deserve success and if male players could just let down their guard and take on the ethos of someone like Alan McManus who commented on his match before playing Ng that :
"I've been a pro nearly 30 years and the last time I played against a lady player in a tournament was in my amateur days.....there were a couple of good players then. In terms of playing a lady, that won't affect me."
However her number 1 status as a female player is under threat amid an uncertain future for billiards sports at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. This is the life blood for Ng as this is where she practices and improves her game with her coach. Like the institute in Sheffield, players depend on a good place to practice and if this is taken away and the spotlight taken off your sport then it is very hard to develop. I hope that that this unwise idea doesn't happen and that On Yee can achieve a lifetime dream and show that snooker can truly be a sport that can both men and women can compete against in parallel.
Ng is a trail blazer and like her predecessor in the 1980s, Alison Fisher, she is pleasure to write to about. Female player really need more media attention and not just when they get a chance of glory. Their sport needs to widely televised and written about in mainstream newspapers. This week Ng is competing at the Q School and within touching distance of glory but many hurdles still have to be crossed if she is to reach that winning line and as we know disappointment can be very damaging to your progression in our game.
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