Snooker: Hunter vows to play at World Championship despite cancer

Paul Hunter, the world No 4 and a leading contender for this month's World Championship, announced yesterday that he has been diagnosed with cancer.

The 26-year-old Yorkshireman, who still intends to compete at the Crucible showcase, which starts on 16 April, almost withdrew from last month's Irish Masters in Dublin because of stomach pains. He subsequently had six cysts removed from his colon. Biopsy tests have revealed cancer, although details of the precise type or prognosis will not be known until further tests have been completed.

Hunter, a three times Masters winner and a World Championship semi-finalist in 2003, is due to meet Michael Holt in his opening match in Sheffield on 17 April.

"Paul will have further hospital tests before and during the Embassy World Championship, in which he intends to compete," World Snooker, the game's governing body, said in a statement. "He will then undergo treatment to cure himself of this illness. Paul would like to reassure his fans and supporters that, as with his snooker career, he is tenacious and positive in his fight against the disease."

Hunter shot to prominence in 1998, aged 19, when he won the Regal Welsh Open to become the second-youngest winner of any major event. He won back-to-back Masters titles in 2001 and 2002, adding a third last year.

Stephen Hendry, a seven-times world champion, was among the first to pass on his support to Hunter, who has a reputation as one of snooker's most genuine, likeable characters.

"This is terrible news and the kind of news that puts things in perspective," Hendry said. "It's the kind of thing that happens to other people, not one of your own. We all wish Paul a speedy and full recovery."