National cueist Ahmad Taufiq Murni once broke into the top-100 as he ended 2011 ranked 67th in the world. He has long been Sultanate's top player and we at BruSports News caught up with him for a quick interview.
Q: Tell us about Ahmad Taufiq Murni.
A: I'm 32 and a father of one. I’m expecting my second child next month and hopefully shares the same birth date as me.
I was a golfer during my childhood days when I was around eight years old before I started playing pool. I currently enjoy playing COD and recently just started to enjoy roller blading.
Q: When did you start playing pool and how did it happen?
A: I started playing pool in 2001. My father, a former national shooter, brought me along to the pool club and encouraged me to play.
I found the sport interesting and from there I started training under coach Lim Tat Hwe at Master Alim Pool and Cafe.
Q: Who is your favourite pool player? What do you like about him?
A: My favourite pool player is none other than the Iceman Mika Immonen from Finland.
It is all about his game play, plan, style of play and technique eventhough there are others who are better than him. I remember watching him on ESPN when he became the world champion in 2001.
Q: Do you remember your first ever tournament and how did it go?
A: For local tournament, I can’t remember but the first ever overseas tournament was back in 2003 held in Kota Kinabalu. I teamed up with Lim and Alias Rashid and we were crowned champions after beating the Malaysian team of Ibrahim Amir, Patrick Ooi and Tan.
Q: You have been under national coach Lim Tat Hwe for a while now. How different was it playing alongside him?
A: I didn’t feel any difference as he always tells me not to think about anything and only to focus on my game.
Q: What is your ultimate goal in the sport?
A: To raise play to a higher level in this country and as for myself, of course, it would be a dream come true to win one of the world’s major tournaments.
Q: Does someone who is good at pool naturally good at snooker and vice versa?
A: Not really. This is because the game is different but then it also depends on someone’s accuracy.
Q: Do you follow any certain diets?
A: Nope. (laughs)
Q: What is your most memorable victory in the sport?
A: Becoming the first player to qualify for the World Pool Master in Las Vegas in 2010 and of course beating former World Champion Ralf Souquet at the Beijing Open in 2011.
Q: Do you think that 2011 was your best ever year considering you broke into the world top-100?
A: Yes, 2011 to 2013 were my peak years as I played in a lot of tournaments and even got sponsored by Mezz cue from Japan for all my pool accessories.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
A: I see myself as an e-sport athlete (jokes). I would still like to pursue with my dream of becoming a world champion.
Q: What advice can you give to those who wish to play the sport and follow in your footsteps?
A: My advice is to be patient, to have full commitment and the most important thing is discipline. Because this sport needs a lot of time to be successful.
Q: What do you think is your biggest strength and weakness in the sport?
A: Strength - ability to comeback after trailing to win the game.
Weakness - majority in breaking technique and mental toughness.
Q: Do you prefer to play singles or doubles?
A: I prefer to play singles but doubles is also also fine with me because it depends on who my partner is.
Currently Azim Abu Bakar is my new partner and we managed to get a good result at the last SEA Games in the Philippines eventhough it was our first tournament partnering each other.
Q: You were on win away from winning a SEA Games medal then. How was it like?
A: Honestly, I was really disappointed not to win any medal at the last SEA Games. I have tried my best but as an athlete I have to accept the failure and move on to focus on the next tournament.
Q: If you could only pick one, would it be 8-ball, 9-ball or 10-ball? Why?
A: Absolutely 9-ball because it is fun, my favourite and it is the most played in Brunei.
Q: Want to give a shout out to our readers?
A: To those who are interested in joining the team,you can come over to Billiards and Snooker Hall at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium as we are looking and welcoming new players.
