SPORTS> Athletes
English-born Gilchrist adds stature to Asian Games billiards
(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-07 09:58

Towering above his opponents with a head of sandy brown hair, there's no mistaking Peter Gilchrist on the floor of the cue sports event at the Asian Games.

Two-time billiards world champion Gilchrist, who is 1.93 meters (6-feet-4) tall, switched the bleak northern English city of Middlesbrough for tropical southeast Asia three years ago and took Singapore citizenship this year.

Now he's representing his adopted country in English Billiards at the Asian Games.

English Billiards, generally played on a large 12-foot by 6-foot (3.66-meter by 1.83-meter) table, uses just three balls, a plain white, a white with a spot, and a red. Players score points by pocketing balls and can continue shooting until a shot, or pocket, is missed.

Gilchrist started playing the sport at the age of 12, when he sought refuge from a snowed-out soccer match in a local snooker club.

"I was just hooked on it from then on," he said in an interview Wednesday.

As fascination turned to obsession, Gilchrist's made the most of his father's job as a firefighter and the billiards table at the station.

"I could leave school at four o'clock and be down at the fire station at 4:30. So from 4:30 to eight o'clock, dad told all the other firemen they couldn't use the table so I could practice."

Gilchrist won his first English Amateur Championship in 1987, aged 19, and turned professional two years later.

No stranger to Asia, much of Gilchrist's early professional career was spent regularly traveling to the billiards hotbed of India for its lucrative tournaments.

"Billiards was huge over there when I first turned professional with big tobacco sponsorships," he said. "Once the tobacco companies were banned from sponsoring sport, billiards waned a little bit and I had to find a new career."

A certified coach, Gilchrist found himself in demand in emerging billiards markets like Canada, Thailand and Qatar, before being invited to steer the Singapore national team in 2003.

Gilchrist said he wasn't taken with Singapore on his only previous visit in 2000.

"I was only there four days and my girlfriend at the time was sick ... I didn't particularly like the place," he said. "Now I just think it's the best place in the world."

Gilchrist regularly travels to visit friends and family in England, but says he can't imagine returning to live.

"I've made a lot of really good friends in Singapore and I feel as though it's my home," he said. "The lifestyle is a lot better for me."

After playing as a professional for 17 years and working in the sport in England, Gilchrist said he was looking for a new challenge and the Singapore coaching offer came at the perfect time.

Cue sports have been included in the Southeast Asian Games since the late 1980s and were introduce to the Asian Games program at the 1998 Bangkok Games.

Gilchrist said the chance of winning medals at a tournament like the Asian Games was a major attraction for players entering the sport.

"It's really good to see Thailand come in to it, Myanmar come into it, obviously Singapore, and now all these countries in the Arab states are taking it up," he said.

"I can see a revival coming now to billiards, especially with all the Middle Eastern countries taking it up. I've taken inquiries for billiards coaching just while I've been here, they're taking it seriously."

Despite his 12 years playing in professional tournaments, including six world championship finals, Gilchrist said representing the Singapore team at the Asian Games was a totally new experience.

"There's a lot more pressure on this," he said. "It's definitely more enjoyable because you've got a really good team behind you and they're all rooting for you, so you feel good ... you want to do well for them and the country."

Gilchrist won bronze in the games' English billiards singles Tuesday and is paired with Alan Puan in the doubles.

After these games, Gilchrist returns to his primary role of coaching the Singapore team.

"I've got some good kids coming through in Singapore, so for the 2010 Asian Games I'd love to be partnering a young lad I've brought on."