Wu Anyi's relationship with Snooker began when she was 13 years old, under the influence of her father, she first came to the billiard club, and her curiosity about the outfit made her interested in snooker. Today, she is about to put on her jersey and go to the bigger stage to let snooker fans around the world know.
Text/ BBC Sport
Wu Anyi and Fu Jiajun
Last month, the World Taiwan Federation announced that Hong Kong's Wu Anyi and England's Queen Ryan Evans are qualified for a two-year career and will move from the 2021/22 season to the World Snooker Tour WST. Wu Anyi is very much looking forward to this, she said: "This is definitely a dream come true, completely unexpected. ”
Wu Anyi, 30, is one of the best players on the World Women's Snooker Tour, having previously played professionally with a wild card several times. In view of Hong Kong's epidemic prevention policy restrictions, Wu Anyi decided not to travel to Sheffield, England, to participate in the World Championship qualification tournament, and her seat was replaced by another female player, Rebecca Kenna, who lost 4-6 to Brandon Sargent in the first round of qualifying.
Wu Anyi
Wu Hopes to improve the situation after the summer so that she can start her professional snooker journey smoothly, but there is also a benefit of training in her hometown, that is, she has the opportunity to train with her idol Fu Jiajun. "He (Fu Jiajun) sent me congratulatory texts," Wu revealed, "and with his positive public image, he may become the first person to help Hong Kong improve its overall image." ”
As a three-time women's snooker world champion, she is looking forward to joining the gender-neutral, age-free professional tour and competing against male players, and in addition to her hometown predecessor Fu Jiajun, she also has the support of other top players.
"Fu Jiajun told me, John Higgins also congratulated me, I think they are very much looking forward to two women joining the professional game, they should not have experienced such a thing, I can't wait to have a game with them." 」 Wu Anyi said.
The first time girls' generation was attracted to snooker was when Wu Anyi went to the billiard club managed by her father. "When I was a kid, I was attracted to snooker because of the dress in the vest bow tie!" Wu Anyi recalled, "I don't like to study, I always play games at home, so my father wants to take me out and walk around more." ”
"One day I saw him dressed in snooker at a local event and I thought I would look good in it, so I asked my father to teach me to play. I was one of the few women in the club to play. ”
Since entering the top list of women's snooker, Wu Anyi has witnessed the good development of snooker's career in Hong Kong, China, and women's participation has become higher and higher. After switching careers, she hopes to contribute to the promotion of the snooker movement.
"I hope that after people see me in the news and competitions, they can change their impression of the sport, and I hope that I can attract more young boys and girls to participate, and I can go to school and share bits and pieces about snooker with students to help promote the sport."