Zhao Xintong world title can enhance snooker’s Olympic bid, says WBPSA chief

Zhao won over the Crucible as he stormed to an unlikely world title

Zhao Xintong’s emphatic World Snooker Championship triumph has fuelled hope for the sport to be included in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, according to one of the men behind the bid.

Zhao, 28, became the first Chinese world champion when he beat Mark Williams in the final on Monday, a breakthrough moment for a country in which snooker has boomed in popularity.

It came after he thrashed snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan 17-7 in the semi-finals, dispatching the seven-time champion with a session to spare at the Crucible Theatre.

With “The Cyclone’s” victory demonstrating China's growing power in the sport, chair of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Jason Ferguson insists that snooker’s inclusion in the Olympic programme is now realistic.

"Realistically, Australia is a target," Jason Ferguson told the BBC on Wednesday.

"We're talking to all the multi-sport bodies. There's a lot of politics involved, but the size of snooker and how important China is to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), someone has to look at this and say 'this is now snooker's time'."

Snooker failed in bids to be included in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics but the sport's increasing global reach, especially in Asia, could make it more attractive to the IOC.

Ferguson has no doubt that the 28-year-old Zhao's triumph in Sheffield this week will further fuel its growth in China.

Zhao Xintong was crowned China’s first world champion at the Crucible (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

"This is one of the biggest occasions snooker has seen," he said. "Snooker in China is treated like any national sport. To see a world champion returning to China a national hero is really going to send the sport to another level."

Zhao, aware of the importance of his world title win on a national scale, already has his eyes on further silverware and will surely relish the opportunity to show off his skillset on the Olympic stage.

"I did realise that my victory is important for Chinese snooker," Zhao told China's state news agency Xinhua.

"I believe I can win more tournaments in the future to attract more people to be involved in the sport. I will refresh myself and look forward to a brand-new start of my career."

Additional reporting by Reuters.