Mark Allen says Ronnie O’Sullivan advice key to weight loss success: ‘I told him things that were personal to me’
Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Allen has praised Ronnie O’Sullivan for inspiring him to lose four stone over the close season.
O’Sullivan is a fitness fanatic who has used a rigorous running regime since turning professional in 1992 to keep him physically and mentally attuned for the considerable challenges of the green baize over the past three decades.
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“I had a good chat with O’Sullivan after we played in Sheffield,” said Allen. “I sat in his hotel room for about an hour, talking about snooker and all sorts of things, he really helped me, it was good.
“He gave me a few pointers. For my health more than anything just to lose some weight, if it helps your snooker so be it, but if it doesn’t it will help your mindset off the table, you’ll be better round your family, round your daughter and he was absolutely right.
“I feel like that has changed my priorities over the summer and maybe why I took such a long break.
“Everything he said has stood me in good stead and I’ve been working hard on it, and hopefully it’ll reap rewards on the table as well.”
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“So I had a good chat with Ronnie, sat in his hotel room for about an hour after the match. It was really good, he really opened up and I told him things that were personal to me. It was good, I really appreciated it.
“I wished him the best for the rest of the event, and I really took on board what he gave me.”
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The Antrim professional faces Stuart Carrington in his tournament opener on Monday 26 September before beginning the defence of his Northern Ireland Open title against Chang Bingyu on Sunday 16 October live on Eurosport.
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“It’s coming up on four stone I’ve lost, so we’re going in the right direction, but I’d love to get another couple of stone off before the British Open, that would be great.
“I’ve been trying hard, it’s been tough, a lot harder than I thought it would be, but it’s something I’ve been needing to do.”
Latest Northern Ireland qualifying results
- Jordan Brown 4-0 Andrew Pagett
- Dominic Dale 4-0 Rebecca Kenna
- Craig Steadman 4-3 Graeme Dott
- Hossein Vafaei 4-0 Mark Davis
- Si Jiahui 4-3 Anton Kazakov
- Fan Zhengyi 4-0 Ashley Hugill
- John Astley 4-3 Wu Yize
- Andy Hicks 4-1 Zhang Anda
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