Sun, Jul 28, 2002 page17

• Cleaning the table

  Liu Hsin-mei's youth was one of karaoke bars and pools halls, drugs and alcohol. But her passion for billiards would eventually elevate her to the international arena and help stoke a fire of popularity for the game in Taiwan

  • By Yu Sen-lun / STAFF REPORTER
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  Where there's a will, there's always a way. Few know this better than Taiwan's billiards queen, Liu Hsin-mei (柳信美). From a rebellious youth of skipping school, drinking hard and popping amphetamines, Liu has risen to become one of the top female pool players in the world.

  Beginning in 1993 with her first tournament win at the BCA US Open 14.1 Championship, she shot her way through title after title, gradually earning her monicker as Taiwan's own Billiards Queen (撞球天后). In 1999 she won her first World Pool Association 9-Ball Championship, and took her second two weeks ago in Kaohsiung, defeating world-ranked No.1, Karen Corr from Ireland.

  Within days of her victory in Kaohsiung, Liu published her book, Taiwan A-mei (台灣阿美). Subtitled, "Liu Hsin-mei's roads growing up," the book describes her youth in Ilan in stories told to sports journalist Hsu Ming-li (許明禮).

  

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  "I wanted to help tell a simple, touching story about a rebellious village girl who was once lost, but found her way again," Hsu said.

  Tumultuous past

  Liu's parents were both blind. The couple raised their four children solely by doing massage. By the age of 8, Liu was taking her mother and father by bicycle to people's houses for massage. But the help she offered her parents subsided when she became a teenager.

  At 18, taken by a boyfriend, Liu began hanging out at pool halls, quickly becoming addicted to the game. She skipped half of her classes and spent hours in smoke-filled dens where she was usually the only girl.

  "As long as I'm interested in something, I will indulge myself in it until I excel at it," Liu told the Taipei Times. "I'm just that kind of person."

  In addition to her high school days spent at neighborhood pool halls in her home town of Loutung (羅東), Ilan County, Liu played tennis and volleyball and frequented the video arcades favored by her peers. But pool remained her passion. She was so taken by the game that even as her mother's lay on her deathbed, Liu was at a pool hall.

  "Failing to see her face for the last time is the biggest regret of my life," Liu said. The days following high school were the darkest of her life.

  She began working at a karaoke bar in Ilan, where drinking and drugs became a part of everyday life. "In the karaoke bar, when a customer wanted you to drink with them, you did," she says in her book.

  There she also discovered amphetamines. "I was offered them by friends, and used them to fight fatigue ... but later I became a bit addicted to them. One time I tried to buy the stuff by myself and was ripped off. I spent thousands and got rock sugar," she writes in her book.

  Ultimately, Liu decided to pick up her pool cue and take it to Taipei's famous pool clubs where she could learn from top players. Though her family strongly opposed her activities after her mother's death, she pleaded.

  "Please let me play," Liu recalls telling her sister. "If I can't make it, I'll return home and find a job.

  But in 10 years under the training of her coach, Chen Wei-chih (陳為志), Liu earned top prizes in international games. She equaled the fame of another top player from Taiwan, Jennifer Chen. After winning the BCA Open in 1993, Liu defeated four-time champion Alison Fisher at the 1999 World 9-Ball Championships in Spain. In 15 years at the table, she has won seven international pool tournaments.

  "Liu's greatest asset is her ability to give consistently good performances. She may not have the camera appeal of other girls on the tour, such as Jennifer Chen (陳純甄) or Jeanette Lee," said Alen Lee (李雅仁), director of the ROC Billiard Association's professional player committee, "but it's as if she's saying, `I play superior pool, so you're gonna have to put the spotlight on me.'"

  Many sports commentators consider Liu's playing style to be moderate but consistent. "She has very solid skills. What's more, she's had intense training playing against a lot of men," said Simon Chang (張明雄), a television billiards commentator and member of the ROC Billiards Association.

  Lee agrees. "Like a male player, she has good coordination in using the strength of her wrist. This is something a lot of ladies don't do well."

  Ambitious future

  Away from the pool table Liu is dressed down and shows no trace of her trademark competitor's glare. She looks much younger and offers a broad, easy smile with a somewhat boyish temperament. At the age of 32, she's decided to return to school to become a teacher. She is now in her second year at the department of sports management of Taipei Physical Education College.

  "I never thought I could be an `old' student," Liu said. "When I was young, I had no goals in my life. I always thought I would only live to 40. Now, I'm happy to see that I've accomplished a lot of things one by one," she said.

  Liu has no plans to put down her pool cue any time soon. Winning another three international championships -- for a total of 10 -- is her next goal. She would also like to win at least two more WPA World 9-Ball Championships to equal or even surpass Alison Fisher's record of four.

  Her only regret is that her parents could not see her success. Liu's father passed away just before her first World 9-Ball Champion in 1999.

  "If I had the chance again, I would give up everything to take good care of them," she said.
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