The importance of staying well as a professional, especially on long trips overseas to the Far East and elsewhere, was once again highlighted in Hyderabad this week.
You can be the best player in the world, but if you are curled up in a ball in the tournament office with a doctor in attendance, eyes closed and simply wishing the ground would swallow you up, generally you won’t be challenging for the big cheques.
Some big names fell victim to all or some of illness, fever, and action ‘at both ends’ in Hyderabad, notably former world champions Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.
Welshman Williams, who hopefully recovered in time to watch the big Euro 2016 semi-final against Portugal in the early hours of Thursday morning, is not generally one to go quietly when such things happen.
And tweets bemoaning jetlag from the flight to India quickly turned into something worse.
“12 hrs kip and still knackered. #airplanelag”, ventured Williams on Twitter on Tuesday.
But by Wednesday this had become (with some very minor editing..) “Omg , spewing shitting, sweating, gut aching, almost passing out - so close to withdrawing this morning. #helpdoctor #dying”.
An eye witness reported Williams as “having the lot, both ends, fever, everything”. A doctor was called out to find Williams curled up in the tournament office asleep, though fully dressed and ready to play.
It is to Williams’ huge credit that in such circumstances he did actually play, shrugging off his various ailments to beat Zhang Yong 4-1.
I can think of plenty of not only snooker players but other sportsmen and sportswomen who might have played the retirement card, with little likelihood of severe penalty.
Tennis is a sport I also follow closely and retirements (often when a player is about to lose) are alarmingly commonplace down the rankings for a lot less than this.
Murphy reported feeling unwell after the opening ceremony on the Monday, and appeared to have a cold and a fever.
But he too stepped off the sick bed to record a 4-1 victory, this one over Daniel Wells.
Some simple precautions are always advisable, but often even if plenty of care has been taken about getting enough sleep and avoiding dangerous-looking food, illness can and does strike from nowhere.
And if it is your mortgage you are playing for, it can have a devastating effect on your earning prospects at any given tournament.
I have seen other top players such as Neil Robertson and Mark Selby among others really suffering with illness at the hotel and venue before big semi-finals and finals in China.
It is one of the things that made Aussie Robertson convert to a vegan diet in the hope of remaining healthier, although Peter Ebdon has yet to convince everyone on that front.
In a sport where tiny margins make a big difference, keeping ‘Delhi belly’ and all it’s cousins at bay might just be the thing that earns a player a sizeable payday.