By JESSE GRAHAM
FROM playing on his neighbour’s old pool table at age 10 to competing in the Junior World Championships in England, Adam Bleumink has risen to international acclaim.
Adam, 18, returned home to Healesville from the Junior World Champioinships on 1 July, after six days at the world championships and five days of test matches in South Africa.
While competing in England, the Australian team was defeated by Ireland but through individual rankings, Adam is now ranked fourth in the world for Under 18s Men.
Adam said that there were six teams competing at the World Championships, including Malta, Ireland and England and that he was happy with the results.
“It was a good couple of weeks, even though we lost in the semis,” he said.
“You get to meet a lot of people.”
Following on from the Junior World Championships, Adam said he’s going to try and dial back his pool playing until his year 12 studies are finished.
“I think I’ll start playing more next year, maybe more snooker,” he said.
He said that he’s not sure what the future holds for his career playing pool, but that he was interested in studying civil engineering or something involving maths.
“It’s not easy – sometimes I want to quit school and just play pool, but I know it’s not good for my future,” he said.
“I take each day as it comes, try and play and do a bit of stuff.”
He said that his family has always been strong support for him over the years, driving him around, watching his games and helping him to raise money for international travel.
Adam’s next pool endeavor will be trying out for the Men’s Victorian team on 27 and 28 July.
