In the West, pool is a game more commonly associated with hustlers hunched over tables in the back rooms of pubs than professional athletes. On the mainland, however, it is fast becoming synonymous with female sporting glory, as women players achieve international success. The latest to do so is Liu Shasha. Last month, the 16-year-old became the youngest ever world champion at nine-ball pool.
Liu doesn't give the impression of a world champion pool player. She's as giggly as most teenage girls, but she was still able to trounce a field of veteran professional players at the World Nine-Ball Championships in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Now, she's the star attraction at the Fuxiaofang Billiard Club near the 'Bird's Nest' stadium in Beijing, where she spends most days sinking balls.
Liu never expected to become world champion so soon. 'I didn't have high expectations. I thought it would be a good result if I finished in the top 16,' says Liu. Nerves struck only after she had won the final. 'I was so excited that my hands were shaking too much to wave to the crowd. Then I called my mum and she was so happy that she cried.'
Her triumph has made her a role model for the increasing number of young mainland women picking up pool cues in the hopes of finding fame and fortune. And Liu is just the most recent star to emerge.
In Shenyang, mainland players took three of the top four places, with 2007 world champion Pan Xiaoting placing third and Liu's best friend and training partner Fu Xiaofang, whose name adorns the club at which she and Liu play, finishing fourth.
Their achievements are threatening to eclipse those of the mainland's top snooker players, Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo. Ding in particular is still far better known nationally, but he should start looking over his shoulder, says Liu's coach, Zhang Shuchun. 'A girl who can play pool and is good looking is always going to attract attention,' says Zhang.