Fancy honing your skills on the green baize?
The Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation (MSBF) will be conducting free introductory lessons at Cue Sports Academy (located above Rock Cafe in Sunway) starting next week in a bid to popularise the sport many generally shy away from.
MSBF president Melvin Chia said most people have generally lost interest in sports due to their lifestyle and current economic situation.
“Many are stuck to their handheld devices … they go to sleep with their mobile phones and wake up with their phones.
“If we adults are guilty of this, can you blame the youngsters?” said Chia.
“We have also seen a drop in patrons at snooker centres due to the economic situation. People are not spending as much on leisure and there are snooker centres that have been forced to close down.”
As such, MSBF has signed up former national champion Benjamin Lee Poh Soon to conduct the free classes Monday to Thursday from 2pm to 4pm.
“He communicates well. Our main aim is to encourage more people to play the sport to create a larger pool of talents.
“It’s a smoke-free environment and suitable for families. Children in China start training by the age of 10 and we need to create such an environment to encourage more children to be part of the sport in a friendly and safe area.
Chia added that if the response is good, they may even consider organising such lessons over the weekend.
This initiative is the first step for MSBF to beef up its development programme.
The national cue artists have consistently contributed to the medal tally at the SEA Games but Chia predicts a muted affair for his team at the Manila Games later this year.
Former Asian junior champion Moh Keen Hoo, Lim Kok Leong and Mohd Reza Hassan will be among those who will don national colours at the regional competition.
Thor Chuan Leong, who has won four SEA Games gold medals at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 editions, will not see action this time around.
“Thor is involved in the pro-Tour. He has to ‘cari makan’ as after the 2017 SEA Games, these players have all been left to fend on their own and they need to survive.
“We even had to convince Keen Ho to be part of the team to Manila. We have Kok Leong and Reza but we need more players, more younger players especially women, otherwise we will lose out to other nations.”
To know more about the free classes, contact Lee at +6012-3303676.
