Hong Kong's Ann Ng cherishes the opportunity to compete as a professional player on the World Snooker Tour (WST) in the new season and looks forward to playing the role of women's snooker trailblazer with 12-time women's world champion Ryan Evans.
Wu Anyi
In March, three-time women's world champion Wu Anyi, along with England's Evans, was awarded a two-year professional qualification and will officially land on the WST Tour as a professional player next month. They will play at least two seasons in professional snooker. For the career prospects, Wu Anyi is excited, firmly believes that this can help her improve her competitive level, and hopes to do a good job with Evans as a pioneer of women's snooker and inspire more women's snooker players to join.
Wu Anyi said: "This (to get a professional qualification) must be a dream come true, I did not expect such a good thing, especially after everyone has experienced the new crown epidemic, I have not been able to train too much, and I have not traveled much all year." I hope that I can make the most of this precious opportunity and learn more and make progress. ”
"Snooker has always been a male-dominated movement, and media propaganda can influence society's perception of women. The standard of men's sports is really higher today, and I think the best women's players also have the ability to stand at the top of the field. Whether you're a man or a woman, it's not easy to stand on the pro circuit, but it's not an unrealistic goal either. ”
"If you look 50 years, you don't see women national leaders, you don't see international organizations under women, there are only a few female fighters, doctors or lawyers. The world is changing all the time, and gender is no longer a threshold. I hope that the presence of women on the top professional circuits will inspire and attract more young women to participate in the sport, whether they are professional or hobby. ”
Former women's world number one Wu Anyi and Evans are both like-minded women's players and their biggest contenders. The two have almost monopolized the women's snooker world, and since 2005, the two have won all the women's snooker world championships. In the 42 ranking races since the 2013 World Championships, Evans and Wu Anyi have won 40 of them, of which Evans has 26 and Wu Anyi has 14.
Wu Anyi said that the two have been a healthy competitive relationship for many years, which is good for each other. On her way to the Pro Snooker Tour, she was happy to have Evans with her. "Healthy competition is always good, we try our best in every event, and we are also very good friends off the field," Wu said, "This entry into the professional tournament means a lot to me and to Ryan, and we can support each other and cheer each other on." ”
Wu Anyi and Evans
"I think playing against top snooker players makes it easier for us to improve ourselves, winning or losing is not the most important thing, losing a game or not winning is not the end of the world, what matters is what you get out of this game."
The most successful snooker player in Hong Kong, China, is Fu Jiajun, and for Wu Anyi, there is no better partner than him in the daily training of the Hong Kong Institute of Physical Education. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Fu Jiajun was not able to travel to the United Kingdom for the WST Tour last year and was relegated, but he was soon awarded an invitation card issued by WST and regained his professional qualification.
Wu Anyi hopes to represent Hong Kong snooker with Fu Jiajun, and is looking forward to exchanging skills with her predecessors in the professional arena. Wu Anyi, who is a small fan, said: "I really hope to play with him at least once, Hong Kong fans will stay up late to watch the ball, I hope to have this opportunity, because no matter who loses and who wins, Hong Kong wins." He is clearly my idol, and I see him as a brother, and he has broken the prejudice of Hong Kong people against the sport with his gentlemanly demeanor and positive public image. ”
Wu Anyi backstage with Fu Jiajun (right) at the Crucible Theatre
"We practiced together and he shared a lot of experience and coached me on the selection of shots. He recently played 147 in a practice match between the two of us and he's a really good player, my idol. I've always felt lucky to be a professional player, lucky to have three great coaches to coach me, and a father who was so supportive of me. ”
"The Hong Kong Institute of Sport also provides services such as gymnasium, physiotherapy and technical support, which has helped me a lot in my development."