Snooker launches push for inclusion at Brisbane Olympic games
Snooker is boldly pushing for inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics to capitalise on the sport's massive popularity in China.
On Monday morning (AEST), Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams 18-12 to become the first Chinese player to win the snooker world championship at the famed Crucible theatre.
Snooker is massive in China, with 300,000 recognised and accredited halls across the country. An estimated 150 million fans tuned in to watch the final.
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Zhao Xintong became the first player from China to win the Snooker World Championship on Monday morning. Getty
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chairman Jason Ferguson said the body was in discussions with the IOC and other bodies about inclusion in the Olympics, with Brisbane the intended target.
"There's a lot of politics involved, but the size of snooker and how important China is to the IOC, someone has to look at this and say this is now snooker's time," he said per The Guardian (UK).
China's obsession with snooker has come off the back of two decades of success for Ding Junhui, who made his mark on the sport in the UK and China by winning the 2005 UK Championship.
Ronnie O'Sullivan during the snooker world championship. Getty
Ferguson suggested China was the world leader in snooker, and other national bodies needed to take note.
"We need to see snooker in (England) treated like a major Olympic sport, that's the difference," he said.
"We have Sport England recognition, but we do need to get the sport treated the same as others. Maybe it's the introduction into events like the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, maybe even the Paralympics, that matters."
Zhao's win came nine months after his return to the sport from a 20-month suspension for his involvement in a match-fixing ring.
Australian snooker star Neil Robertson. VCG via Getty Images
While Zhao didn't directly throw matches, he was charged with being party to another player fixing two matches. He was one of 10 players suspended in 2023.
Australia is represented on snooker's world stage by Neil Robertson. The former Melburnian is the only player from outside the UK to have completed snooker's 'Triple Crown', having won the world championship (2010), the Masters (2012 and 2022) and the UK championship (2013, 2015 and 2020).
Ronnie O'Sullivan is one of few snooker players to have achieved genuine international stardom and recognition away from the dark halls and bright green felt.
