Hyderabad, Nov 24 (IANS) Ng On Yee, the 19-year old prodigy from Hong Kong, expectedly won the women’s title in the ONGC-IBSF World Snooker championship with a convincing 5-1 win against 49-year old Kathy Parashis of Australia here Tuesday.
It was not so much the margin of victory as the manner in which Ng went about her task, especially in the latter half of the match when she was summoned for a dope test when leading 4-1. On her return, she kept her composure to take the sixth frame to become the first woman world champion from Hong Kong.
‘I was very nervous at the start and made some mistakes. But later on, I played well,’ said Ng through team-mate Cheung Leung Sing who had taken part in the Masters competition and doubled up as the interpreter.
A feature of Ng’s game was her potting that, on occasion, was breathtaking, especially the long-distance shots that she executed with unerring accuracy.
The match itself was rather touch-and-go with both players alternating between good and bad shots, but the turning point came in the third frame when Parashis, ahead by 15 points, conceded 16 points on four foul-and-miss shots attempting to come out of a snooker.
Ng seized the opportunity to take the frame for a 2-1 lead and thereafter stayed a step ahead to emerge deserving winner. She also displayed remarkable maturity to keep her focus despite an interruption when she was called for a dope test.
When asked whether the unscheduled stoppage had disturbed her, Ng said: ‘I was actually more composed when I returned from the dope test. I potted well too.’
Parashis, a mother of three from Sydney, heaped praise on Ng, saying: ‘She played far better and every time I went in front, she came back strongly. I had my chances in almost every frame, but on the day, she was the better player. I never played well in the entire tournament, but scraped through most of the matches.’
The Aussie said that she was well-prepared for the final and last night’s emotionally draining 4-3 semi-final win against Bi Jhunqing did not affect her. ‘I was confident of winning, but then, made too many mistakes,’ she said.
The results:
WOMEN (final) – Ng On Yee (Hong Kong-China) bt Kathy Parashis (Australia) 5-1: 57-22, 50-55, 52-44, 63-42, 83-20, 65 (36)-36.
