Mink Nutcharut: I Don't See Why Women Can’t Be As Good As Men In Snooker

Reigning women’s world champion Mink Nutcharut may have lost at the Champion of Champions tournament this week against the current UK and German Masters champion Zhao Xintong but the reputation of the 22-year-old from Thailand, if anything, rose following a tight match against the world No8 that she could easily have taken to a decider or even won in Bolton. 

But there is no rest for Nutcharut, who on Saturday heads to Sheffield to take on veteran Irish grinder and former ranking-event winner Fergal O’Brien in a daunting UK Championship qualifier needing four wins to make it to the final stages at York’s Barbican Centre later in November. 

A rookie season on the main professional tour is of course a challenge, and Nutcharut is primarily focused on absorbing everything she sees or can pick up like a sponge, and look to learn and improve in every possible way. There has been a first pro victory in the Northern Ireland Open qualifiers against Mitchell Mann.

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And the woman who was congratulated in person by the Thai prime minister and enjoyed a motorcade parade reception in her home town of Saraburi for her world title success  sees no reason by women should not compete with men in a sport where strength and power are not anywhere near as essential – but wants higher prize money for the women’s development tour. 

Nutcharut, who also had a career-high payday this season of £30,000 for winning the world mixed doubles with Neil Robertson, said: “It was a brilliant experience for me, playing a player as good as Zhao at the Champion of Champions - once I relaxed I really enjoyed the match and found it very exciting to be there. 

“When I potted the key ball to get back to 3-2 behind it was a big thrill because I knew I had a chance to win, and maybe I could have won the next frame too – but I lost concentration just for some moments. 

“But I learned a lot from the match and the experience, as I am learning all the time in my first season on the main tour. That is what I should be doing.  

“And of course it gives me a lot of confidence that I can play against one of the best players in the world in a big tournament - and it was a close match that maybe I could even have won, or at least got to 3-3. Even though I was disappointed to lose, I also felt good afterwards. 

“Overall this season I am just learning and hopefully improving, just gaining experience. Every time I play I see something and pick up a shot I see that the opponent plays. And Ronnie O’Sullivan has spoken to me this season at events and given me some advice. 

“He just told me not to worry too much in my first season and to just watch and learn. He is the best, so it’s good advice I think. Ronnie and Reanne Evans are maybe the main inspirations for me, for what they have done in snooker.  

“I don’t think of myself as a big superstar – I am just playing snooker for my family and myself, and trying my best every time I play. 

“I am playing Fergal in my first UK Championship qualifier, he is a good player and I have watched his matches. I don’t mind if he plays a bit slowly, I quite like that. Sometimes it is me that is the slower player and that can add pressure when the opponents are playing much faster. And you have to be able to play against all styles of top players, and I will learn things, win or lose, in that match. 

“The biggest sports in Thailand are football, muay thai [Thai boxing], volleyball, badminton…but I would like to make snooker much bigger. There are many good players there, but getting the money to compete and travel is hard. It can be very expensive. 

“The reception I got in my home town of Saraburi when I won my first world championship this year was amazing. I was in a parade in an open-top car with lots of motorcycles. I am very proud of what I did, and I wasn’t expecting that. 

“And I did meet the prime minister of Thailand afterwards, he gave me his congratulations and hoped I could make snooker bigger at home. 

“I want people to know that women can play as well as men, and attract more women players into the sport. The prize money is very different from the main tour to the women’s tour – I won £6,000 for my world title, and it is £500,000 for the men. That is a big difference. 

“I don’t see any reason why women can’t be as good as men in snooker, it is not a sport where power or strength is especially important. It just needs to become more normal for women to play on the main tour, there are four of us now but you can still feel under pressure.”