Ace pool player Amit stresses importance of failures, too

MANILA, Philippines — Even after 10 medals and a historic feat, Rubilen Amit hopes that fans would see beyond it all.

Now 35 years old, the veteran Cebuana pool player wants that spectators and critics will realize that the losses are as instrumental to their victory as the hard work they put in.

“What you see are these,” points to her latest silver medal that she won in the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games. “Ang ‘di niyo nakikita, ‘yung mga talo namin. Ang dami-dami.”

“What we can do is somehow inspire or motivate,” she added during Usana’s homecoming of their brand ambassadors. “Be resilient. Kung meron mang mga difficulties or struggles, hang in there and keep doing hard work.”

Amit, who is the first Filipina to become a world pool champion, said that it’s the little things that will pave the way for the grand result.

“Put on the hard work and everything else will follow,” she said. 

Amit, who snared five golds in the biennial meet, went on to share that her career arc was peppered with lots of downs. When she started playing at 12 years old, she said she had been exposed to high pressure. But in hindsight, she offered that it was all part of the process.

“As you progress, the expectations as well progress. While iba-iba ang way of coping ng tao, I guess the message is struggles, difficulties — they happen parati. It’s normal,” she said.

“The message is to not lose hope," she noted.

Amit’s latest outing saw her falling short against a younger compatriot in Chezka Centeno, who is 17 years the latter’s junior. 

And while that defeat sort of stings, she said that her most memorable loss is one that also brought her a silver medal — in the same event six years ago.

“It was in the 2011 SEA Games. I won silver. But the manner of me losing … I played terrible. I played very fearful and doubtful. I was devoid of faith,” she shared.

“When people ask me of my favorite medal, it’s that. 'Yun ‘yung talagang formative,” she recalling how much she lacked focus in her campaign.

"Kaya malaking lesson siya for me. Kasi I believe that preparation is directly proportional to the result,” she continued.

Amit, who has long put her prints in the sport, will try to improve her Asian Indoor-Martial Arts Games performance later this September. Her first crack in the contest saw her win a bronze in the iteration in Incheon.

And she believes all of those lows have prepared her for that bigger stage that opens on September 17 in Turkmenistan —which she considers as the equivalent of the 2019 Asian Games for indoor events. 

“[The delegation] is leaving on the 14th,” she said. “Then it’s the world championships in November.”

Asked if she ever takes a break, Amit said proudly: “Next year na lang.”