Zhao Xintong’s stunning world snooker championship triumph went viral back home yesterday with trailblazer Ding Junhui leading the tributes to China's latest sporting superstar.
The 28-year-old Zhao became the first Asian to win the prestigious title with an 18-12 victory over Welshman Mark Williams in the final at the Crucible in Sheffield, England.
On Chinese social media platform Weibo the hash tag “Zhao Xintong wins world championship” had 120 million views as of yesterday morning and was among the top-trending stories.
Ding, China's first snooker star and the beaten world finalist in 2016, said Zhao’s victory was “the best reward for all the Chinese snooker fans who have long supported the sport and waited for this day.”
"The darkness we once walked through – it was all so that people could see the light,” he wrote.
"Today Zhao Xintong did it! What he won is the shared dream of generations of Chinese snooker players. I’m happy for you and proud of the rise of Chinese strength!”
Left-hander Zhao, nicknamed ‘The Cyclone,’ was playing at the Crucible as an amateur, having lost his tour card in January 2023 for his part in a match-fixing scandal. That controversy threatened to derail Zhao's promising career when he was hit with a 20-month ban. Zhao accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself in a controversy that led to 10 Chinese players being punished.
The scandal continued to weigh on some Chinese sports fans yesterday, but for the most part, social media users celebrated a source of national pride.
"He deserves forgiveness,” one person wrote.
A beaming Zhao accepted the trophy with the Chinese flag draped over his shoulders.
Lei Peifan, who stunned defending champion Kyren Wilson in the first round at the Crucible, wrote that Zhao had set “a new milestone in Chinese snooker.”
World snooker chief Jason Ferguson said Zhao's triumph will take the sport to “another level.”
"Snooker is so big in China. He is young, talented and entertaining and speaks both English and Mandarin. This is going to take snooker to another level,” Ferguson said.
"China loves its heroes and winners. Some countries back underdogs but in China they really celebrate their champions. He has the ability to become the most popular sporting star in the country.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
