Cultivate Sport with a Pool Game at the World Games! / 深耕體育 撞進世運!
Cultivate Sport with a Pool Game at the World Games!
Written by Jessica Lin photos by Jung-Hui Pao
Right after having held the 2005 Asian 9- Ball at the end of April, Kaohsiung is now about to hold the World Games Cup in mid-June, and the 2005 World Pool Championship in July. Both events are going to stir up a wave of pool mania.
Kaohsiung has always been an important city with regard to the pool. With a history of nearly 20 years in Kaohsiung, pool first started being played and practiced in some local pool rooms, and then, mostly for leisure. Only gradually did it move on to a professional level. Taiwanese players who are now well established through many international games, such as Fong-Pang Chao, Ching-Shun Yang, Kun-Ze Li, Huei-Kai Sia, are all from Kaohsiung, and have become known as the "Kaohsiung Gang" in Taiwanese pool circles.
Fong-Pang Chao, the chairman of the Kaohsiung Billiards Committee, who is himself a master pool player in Kaohsiung, said that he started playing pool with his classmates, when he was at junior high school. Self taught, he beat all the players in Zuoying District within 6 monthes. Later on, he began to develop a keen interest in the game, and after the establishment of the Professional Billiards Association in 1990, he was soon to become a member thus launching his career as a pro-pool player.
Fong-Pang Chao has won several prizes in both domestic and international games, which includes the 1993 Taipei World Championship, several Asian Championships, and a gold medal in the1998 Bangkok Asian Games. He was said to be the 'King of World Pool'. "His advice to would-be professional players is that, in order to play good pool, concentration is the key; they should also try to seek other high level players to play with, with a view to absorbing their skills, which will enable such enthusiastic to improve very quickly.
Ching-Shun Yang, the winner of the 2005 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour in Kaohsiung, has just turned 25. He also started playing pool when he was a junior high school student, and was recognized by Fong-Pang Chao, to eventually become his apprentice. Yang is said to be a player of genius, and is praised as being the 'Son of Pool'. According to Yang, winning does not depend on actual strength and experience, but on a certain amount of luck in pool. Although strong players win most of the time, there are still times of defeat. Therefore, the spirit to persevere is crucial when playing pool.
Ching-Shun Yang has called for more attention on the sport of pool in Taiwan. Fong-Pang Chao has therefore been striving to make pool an Olympic event, so that everyone will take pool more seriously. Kaohsiung City has already listed pool as a key training sports item, and started cultivating young billiard talent in sports classes at various junior high schools and elementary schools, two years ago. These training programs teach the youths accurate, professional concepts and skills of the game of pool. Distinguished players are therefore chosen to play in both domestic and international games as a form of instruction for young talent. In this way, a number of brilliant 'little pool players' have so far been cultivated, who have already won many national competitions.
Moreover, in order to promote the sport of pool in Kaohsiung, the City Government is about to hold several pool tournament in Kaohsiung, and since pool will also be a 2009 World Games event, pool fans in Kaohsiung will thus be able to enjoy the world-class players' excellent skills, hopefully cultivating a wave of "pool mania" through out Taiwan.
深耕體育 撞進世運! 文/林昀熹 攝影/鮑忠暉 高雄市於4月底才剛辦過「2005年亞洲盃九號球巡迴賽」,緊接著於六月中旬有「撞進2009─世運盃花式撞球錦標賽」、七月份的世界盃花式撞球錦標賽,都在高雄舉行,為高雄掀起一波又一波的撞球熱潮。 高雄是撞球運動發展的重鎮。撞球在高雄已經有將近二十年的歷史,早期喜愛撞球的人士,都是在民間開辦的撞球館中練習,並且多以休閒為目的,之後漸漸朝向專業的撞球競技,台灣選手如趙豐邦、楊清順、李昆芳、夏揮凱等,在許多國際重要賽事中撞出一番天地,而這些選手都是出身於高雄球壇,也因此在國內撞球界有「高雄幫」的說法。 目前高雄市撞球委員會主委趙豐邦,可說是高雄元老級的撞球選手。趙豐邦說,他是在國一的時候跟著同學一起去打撞球,無師自通的情況下,才半年的功夫就打遍左營無敵手,後來漸漸打出興趣,在民國79年撞球職業會成立後,他也立即加入,開始了職業選手的生涯。 趙豐邦曾經得過1993台北世界盃冠軍、多屆亞洲錦標賽冠軍、1998年曼谷亞運會金牌等多項國內外大獎,戰績相當輝煌,堪稱世界球王,他表示,撞球要打得好最重要的就是要專注,如果有機會就找選手對打,吸收對方的技術,進步就會很快。 而這次在2005年「亞洲九號球巡迴賽」高雄站中摘冠的楊清順,才剛滿25歲,也是從國一就開始打球,在球場受到趙豐邦的賞識,而成為趙豐邦的「徒弟」正式習球,可說是天才型的選手,「撞球神童」的美譽不逕而走。楊清順透露,撞球並不是有實力就會贏,有時候還需要一點運氣,雖然有實力的人大多數會贏,但挫折也會很多,因此打撞球需要堅持到底才行。 楊清順呼籲:希望台灣能多重視撞球運動。而趙豐邦更從多年前就不斷爭取讓撞球列入奧運項目之中,就是希望能讓大家更正視撞球這項運動。高雄市政府近年也將撞球列入重點培訓項目,兩年前就在各中小學的體育班中,專門培育撞球人才,教導年輕學子正確且專業的撞球觀念與技術,並從中擇優參加全國或世界性的比賽,至今已經有豐碩成果,培養出許多優秀的「小撞士」。 為了更加推廣撞球風氣,高雄市政府更接連舉辦多項撞球賽事;2009年將在高雄舉辦的世界運動會中,撞球也是比賽項目之一,屆時不但喜愛撞球的朋友可以欣賞到國際級選手的精湛球技,肯定又將為高雄的撞球熱潮帶來另一波高峰! |