Dollish and petite, Ng On Yee exudes sweetness and charm. But don’t be fooled by her delicate demeanour. Ng is the reigning World Ladies Snooker Champion for 2015, a past Asian Games Gold Medallist and World IBSF Champion. Ask Ng for her motto and she’ll say, “if you believe it, you can achieve it.”

Ng is currently enrolled in an accounting programme at the School and she frequently has to rush between the snooker table and her desk. She said that in the past, her competitions had occasionally clashed with her studies and examinations, but she was fortunate in having the understanding of the School to permit her to take her examinations earlier and independently. Such flexible arrangements have allowed her to engage fully in both her studies and her sport.

Playing snooker and accounting may seem rather at odds with each other, but in Ng’s perspective, the two are actually rather similar. “Both snooker and accounting involve analysing data”, she says. “In the past, I relied solely on my instinct, but now I use what I have learned in accounting to calculate my moves and improve on various angles of execution on the snooker table. Studying has not affected my practice, in fact I have actually improved my game as I have advanced in my studies.”

As a world champion, Ng reminds those of us who have to work and study at the same time to embody the spirit of an athlete and focus on the positive, knowing that as long as you believe, you will achieve.