Seven in her bag, many more in her mind

This story was sheer luck when I was covering the World woman snooker championship for the Deccan Herald in Delhi in 1994, that I saw the Hindu correspondent talking to Allison Fisher who was all time great in the table top ball game. So I just joined in the chat and asked a few questions myself and later found that this chat turned out to be a Q&A piece.

At 26, Allison Fisher has already won the women’s world snooker championship seven times. In the latest edition of the championship, in Delhi, Fisher fought off Stacey Hillyard to complete a hat-trick of triumphs too.
In a dozen years in the game Fisher could proudly say she ahs won all there is in the women’s game. Not to rest on her laurels, the blonde from Hertfordshire in Sussex has stormed the mal bastion and promises to make a success of it.
Fisher spoke to Deccan Herald during the Highball world championship at hotel Le Meridien in the capital. Excerpts:

Q: When and how did you take to this game?
A: When I was seven years old I saw this game on TV and took a keen interest in it. In the evenings my parents used to take me to some of the social clubs. Most of them had a six-foot table and that is where I started my game when I was about eight. At 14, I got the big break when I was allowed to play with men.

Q: is anybody else in your family into the game?
A: No, nobody, though my father is trying to now. All my three brothers tried and gave up because the have no patience.

Q: Which matches would you rate as your best and the worst in your professional career?
A: I would rate the semi-finals here against Tessa Davidson as the best. I was three games up only to see the fourth which I by a difference of two points. This was the toughest and memorable one. The worst was again with Tessa in the semi-final of the 1990 world championship where I lost 5-2. I was not able to play one shot straight after being the world champion. That embarrassed me most.

Q: Which other player do you respect on the circuit?
A: I respect almost all of them but I have special regard for Tessa Davidson and Stacey Hillyar. Among men Steve Davis is the only one I respect though (Jimmy) White and Stephen Hendry are also good players.

Q: Who are the players to look for in the future?
A: Among the ladies, it is Kelly Fisher which in the men’s it is Ronnie O’Sullivan, because both of them are good positional players and crack potters.

Q: What made you move over to the men’s circuit?
A: I didn’t have much to prove on the ladies circuit. What was to be achieved had been done time and again. Besides there is more money and more experience to be had on the men’s circuit. In the women’s game, there is not so much prize money. I found it very difficult to find sponsor four or five years ago, and I remember I had to play with the same cue for close to ten years. Now that I am in the men’s circuit, and in the top 200, I have signed a four year contract with a Chinese company named Cue-Tec.
It is also a challenge for me and I have not taken it lightly though I have lost close matches to O’Sullivan and (Alan) MCManus. By the end of 1995 I think I will be able to challenge even the best players even if I am not able to beat them.
The standard of the ladies snooker has improved. While in the late 80s you had to wait till the semi-final for a good match, there are better matches to be had now right from the start. The men’s tournaments continue to get more publicity while the ladies events are pushed backstage.

Q: What can be done to improve the ladies scene?
A: All I can say is we need some dedicated people who have no other jobs other than making sure that tournaments are held regularly to enable the players to improve their skills and find sponsor for themselves.

Q: Why did you suggest clubs for ladies when they are already plenty of them in London?
A: Because the clubs we have back home are not places where a lady could go and have a few decent games.

Q: Have you ever played billiards?
A: I did try long back when I first won the world championship. Billiards needs more patience while snooker is a game which can be finished off. Billiards is very technical and I am not qualified for it right now.