China has been a rising force in the world of Snooker for the past ten years. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association has tried to improve the sport in China. China has more than 50 million players of snooker, making it one of the top snooker countries in the world. The Chinese have yet to win a world championship. It is expected that the number of Chinese snooker players will increase rapidly as the sport becomes more popular.
Chinese snooker stars are revered as icons in China. Many thousands gather to see tournaments. They are treated as celebrities and have red carpet entries. Champagne receptions are also arranged. The sport is becoming more popular and more players are coming up. Tian Pengfei is among the youngest players. Zhang Jiankang is also among them.
The sport was once again under fire despite China becoming the most dominant player in snooker over the past decade. Yu Delu (former professional player) was expelled on 1 December after being charged with match-fixing. Yu is currently in a 10-year suspension. WPBSA are also investigating match-fixing allegations made for betting purposes.
Although no players were banned, suspensions have cast a shadow on the sport. Only 12 Chinese athletes are in the top 64. That number has been reduced to 11 after Zhao Xintong and Li Hang were added to the suspension list. Additionally, the CBSA is currently investigating allegations that Liang Wenbo and Lu Ning were involved with match-fixing.
Yan Bingtao (the 2021 Masters champion) is however the most important name in the investigation. He was due to participate in the next World Snooker Tour event. He was eliminated after he drew with Mark Williams in the first round. He was widely expected to be the first Chinese player in a world championship. However, his comments on the ongoing investigation have been limited.
Zhao Xintong of China is also suspended from this year's World Snooker Tour. He was ranked no.1 in the world earlier in the season. He is the world's number one player and is highly regarded in the sport. However, he is currently being investigated as part the global probe into match-fixing.
Former world number one Chinese player has been under investigation. Liang Wenbo was suspended in October. Many other Chinese players have been disciplined for alleged abuse or cheating. These are only a few of the hundreds of millions who have been following the sport in China.
However, the World Tour attracts a lot of Chinese players. More tournaments are held in China.
But, China still has a long way to travel before they can match the success of the UK. There are more tournaments in China, and more Chinese players are getting into professional snooker.
At present, the two highest-ranking Chinese players in the world are Zhao Xintong and Ding Junhui. Ding has won numerous ranking titles, and he has an enormous following in China. Ding, even though he hasn't won a World Championship, stated that he would like the World Championship.