Brunei Snooker Facing Bright Future Says Coach
By James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - The future of Brunei's snooker and 9-ball pool looks very bright especially with the participation of more youths in the upcoming junior under-21 competitions.

This is the view of Awang Mohammad Hassim Raibin, Brunei national snooker coach, who expressed this optimism at the National Stadium yesterday.

The junior snooker tournament which will commence on Feb 18 at the National Stadium will see 21 junior snooker players cross cue with each other in the hope of getting a slot to represent Brunei in future junior competitions.

Only eight slots are available in the junior national team and players who make it to the quarterfinals of the under-21 junior tournament will be selected to represent Brunei in the up-coming Asean under-21 junior snooker championship in Bangkok, Thailand. Besides representing Brunei, the quarterfinalists will automatically qualify for the national snooker tournament which is schedule to take off at the end of this month.

Among the players to watch out at the competition is Mohd Nasdrul Khaq, who is ranked number one in the tournament.

He is no stranger to the competition as he had captured the junior title in 2001.

His main rival would be Awang Md Ali Noradillah, who is ranked second in the tournament.

Awang Md Ali who has vast experience in snooker has been in fine form during his training.

Meanwhile, coach Raibin said the future of the game looked bright with more youth participation.

"However, youth players need to be dedicated and committed to become an even better player when come to age."

He said a snooker player is like an architect who creates his own mastery and work. Snooker players need to play with their own style revolving from their skills in order to develop in the international arena.

"Experience, lots of training and practice to perfection is the key to becoming a professional snooker player and again dedication and commitment is a must,' he added. Raibin who used to train under the great Jimmy White in his younger days, felt that Brunei players lacked the instinct of using what had been taught to be use in the actual game.

"Fortunately there is still time for improvement as the young players are still at the development stage." -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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