Hong Kong’s world number two Ng On-yee said the top women’s players are working harder than before as younger talent emerges but she is enjoying the challenge.
Ng was on Saturday beaten 4-3 by Chinese teenager Bai Yulu in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong World Women’s Masters at General Snooker Club in Lai Chi Kok.
The 28-year-old three-time world champion had earlier beaten world No 1 Reanne Evans 3-1 in a tough last-eight clash and was unable to continue her early momentum against the precocious 17-year-old.
Bai will face England’s world number three Rebecca Kenna in the final on Sunday. Kenna, beaten 3-0 by Bai in the group stages, scored a 4-0 victory over Belgium’s Wendy Jans in her semi-final.
“I knew she was a very talented player and also very consistent,” said Ng, who had a 1-1 win-loss record against Bai coming into the match. “There are a lot of young ladies coming up and I am still working hard to stay on top.
“When we go to tournaments we see who is coming up and who is improving, so it is getting harder and harder to compete. But at the same time, it’s also fun.”
Bai, the IBSF women’s world under-21 champion, is one of a number of young talent rising up the ranks, alongside Thailand’s 19-year-old Natcharut Wongharuthai, who has already reached No 4 in the world.
The mainland star had beaten Hong Kong’s Jaique Ip Wai-in 3-0 in the quarter-finals and had yet to drop a frame until she faced Ng in the final.
Ng led 1-0 and 2-1 before Bai fought back to go 3-2 up. In the decider Ng had a number of chances to clean up the table but chose to take risky shots instead of playing safe, allowing Bai – who had a tournament-high break of 15 in the quarter-finals – to show off her potting skills.
China teen Bai Yulu too young to travel alone but is already eyeing world snooker domination
“I lost in the decider but actually I started quite well,” said Ng. “Then the frames became a lot more closer and when it came to the decider I started to feel the pressure and my cue action wasn’t as good as the start.
“So I made some mistakes when I had a chance to win. There are some shots that I may play differently if I had another chance.”
Bai said she felt nervous going into the semi-final against the hometown snooker queen.
“I needed to stay patience and calm to conquer my nerves,” said Bai, who plans to play on the women’s ranking circuit next year. “I am happy to win and hopefully I can go on to play the final.”
