Snooker鈥檚 bid to enter the Olympic Games will be boosted by having , the sport鈥檚 top official said on Tuesday.
Wu Yize beat Shaun Murphy 18-17 in a dramatic world championship final on Monday to follow in the footsteps of compatriot , who became Asia鈥檚 first ever world champion 12 months ago.
Britain has long been snooker鈥檚 traditional stronghold but China 鈥� where there are around 300,000 recognized snooker clubs 鈥� is the in the game, providing 11 of the 32 players in the main draw of the worlds over the last two weeks and five in the top 16 of the world ranking.
Snooker failed in bids to get onto the Olympic program for the first time for the Games in 2021 and 2024, and could launch another attempt ahead of the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, said the IOC 鈥渄efinitely has got eyes on our sport鈥� and the recent successes of Chinese players at the Crucible Theatre can only help.
鈥淚t’s vitally important,鈥� Ferguson told The Associated Press in a phone interview. 鈥淐hina is a very important country to the IOC 鈥� it has been a host of the Games on many occasions and they are heavily invested in sports, in IOC terms.
鈥淪o the fact that China is a key market for snooker is a really important part about any Olympic bid.鈥�
The growth of snooker in other markets 鈥� notably in eastern Europe, with Poland having its first player competing in the world championship in Antoni Kowalski this year 鈥� is highlighted by the fact there are almost 100 countries with some kind of national infrastructure for the sport, Ferguson noted.
鈥淲hen we started this idea of going to the Olympics, we only had a handful of countries playing,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut we are ready (to be in the Olympics). And that鈥檚 an exciting proposition.鈥�
Ferguson said the WPBSA was working on making its final applications to get snooker into the Paralympics, too. Snooker was on that program from 1960-88.
The IOC will likely finalize its program of sports to be added to the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics by next spring, around the time of the next world snooker championship. Strong support from Brisbane officials should be crucial to any sport鈥檚 ambitions to get Olympic status.
Australian snooker player Neil Robertson was the world champion in 2010 and is the current world No. 2.
Wu’s rapid rise after relocating to Britain
At age 22, Wu became the second youngest player to win snooker’s biggest prize and did so in a flamboyant style that has marked him out for many, including the great Ronnie O’Sullivan, as a likely world champion.
Six years ago, Wu relocated to Britain from his hometown of Lanzhou to pursue his dream of becoming a professional. He came across with his father 鈥� his mother stayed in China 鈥� and they shared a small, windowless flat that was in such 鈥減oor condition,鈥� Wu said, that it might have given him acne because of the poor air quality.
鈥淚f you really love snooker,” he said, “it is the path you have to go through and fight through.鈥�
His victory at the Crucible Theatre was something of a surprise, as Wu had never won a match at the worlds before this year.
Like Zhao, Wu 鈥� the new world No. 4 鈥� wants his journey to be an inspiration for all Chinese players back home.
鈥淚 hope younger players can stay true to their passion, be a bit braver, and go after their dreams,” he said.
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