HONG KONG: As a child, Nutcharut 'Mink' Wongharuthai reluctantly hung around after school waiting for her mum to finish working at a Thai snooker hall. But fast forward a dozen years and the 22-year-old is now the world women's snooker champion - an unlikely sporting ascent which has put her firmly in the frame as a new rival to the men.
Mink became the first Thai to claim the championship when she beat Belgian veteran Wendy Jans 6-5 on Feb 15, holding her nerve to take the last frame on the final black.
