Hope to defend my title: Wendy

For a player who now treats snooker just as a hobby due to lack of a proper circuit, it’s quite brilliant that Wendy Jans is the two-time defending champion.

Forced to focus on her snooker parlour business at her hometown Bree in north-east Belgium following the death of the women’s professional tour a little over a decade ago, Jans just trains for four hours a week but every time she checks into a tournament, she starts firm favourite.

“Unfortunately as there are not many prize money tournaments in women’s snooker all over the world, I can’t play the sport as I would like to do,” the 31-year-old said after polishing off Brazilian Claudia Zardo Cordeiro 3-0 in her opening Group A match on Wednesday.

“I have my own business, my own snooker club, so I’ve to work a lot and don’t practice that much anymore. It’s more for fun, a hobby but I still try to do my best.”

Despite getting off the blocks in blazing fashion and laying down the marker, Jans didn’t sound too cocky of her chances.

“The final is a long way off. This is only the first day and I hope to defend my title again this year and go for three in a row. You never know as there are a lot of good girls in here. I have seen a lot of Asian girls and also a few from India are also good. It’s getting difficult every year. I hope to go the distance.”

Jans felt the women’s tour needs to be resurrected otherwise it’s going to be very difficult to make them take up the sport.

“We had a tour in England, the money wasn’t big but it was quite ok. Sadly, the tour was sponsored by tobacco companies and following the new rules where they can’t be advertised, they just left the tour. The men’s game also encountered the same problem but somehow, they were able to sustain themselves.

“I wish there was a ladies tour with good money. It doesn’t have to be lot of money but decent money where women can make a living. It shouldn’t be like now where we have to go to work to make a living.”