Snooker likely to become an Olympic sport in 2032, thanks to Zhao Xintong's historic win
Jason Ferguson shared that Zhao Xintong's historic victory at the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre opened doors for the sport, particularly in terms of global appeal and potential for Olympic inclusion. He also emphasised that snooker's growth, especially in Asia, strengthens the possibility of it being added to future Games, hopefully at the 2032 Brisbane Games.
With this, Ferguson said, 'Realistically, Australia is a target… We're talking to all the multi-sport bodies.'
He added: '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 bids for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics
The sport has never been included in the Olympic Games, and it failed both bids for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, snooker was featured in the first-ever Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. Unfortunately, the sport was dropped from the Paralympics after the 1988 Seoul Games.
Ferguson believes that if snooker is to be an Olympic sport, its governing bodies must truly show greater commitment and dedication to its inclusion on the global stage.
'We need to see snooker in this country treated like a major Olympic sport; that's the difference… We have Sport England recognition, but we do need to get the sport treated the same as others,' Ferguson continued.
He further said: 'Maybe it's the introduction into events like the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, maybe even the Paralympics, that matters.' A historical win for China
Zhao Xintong made history at the Crucible Theatre by becoming the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship. The 28-year-old player impressively defeated Welsh veteran and three-time world champion Mark Williams with an 18-12 victory in the final round.
Zhao displayed his skills and capabilities throughout the match against his seasoned opponent. With his grit, his game highlighted the dominance of the new, younger generation on an international scale.
This win has been a significant moment not just for himself, but for the sport of snooker itself. Snooker in China has seen rapid growth over the past two decades, and it is expected to be better known after Zhao's win.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
35 minutes ago
- CNA
How Singapore is 'home' for two swimmers representing Spain and Ireland at the World Aquatics Championships
SINGAPORE: For Spain's Carmen Weiler Sastre and Ireland's Jack Cassin, competing at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships has added significance. It is in host country Singapore where the two swimmers spent much of their adolescent years; where they cultivated friendships; and where they built the foundation of their sporting careers. To the pair, Singapore is special. "I don't even think I can ... express or put into words how I feel after this," Cassin told CNA, referring to competing in Singapore. He had just finished second in the heats of the men's 100m butterfly on Friday (Aug 1). "It has so much more emotion and depth attached to it, than it would be for any other swimmer here, because this is the place that I used to call home. It definitely feels like being back home." For Weiler Sastre, whose family moved to Singapore when she was just one, it was "surreal" to be back. "It's really special for me to come back and compete in front of my friends and family," she told CNA. "I really enjoyed growing up in Singapore ... I would say this is my home." Cassin and Weiler Sastre have known each other over the years, having trained and studied together at the Canadian International School and then the Nexus International School. 'When he told me that he was going to Singapore for worlds, I was really excited," said Weiler Sastre, 20, who is Spain's national record holder in the 100m backstroke. "We also went to the same place for a training camp in Malaysia in Kuching, so that was really cool to share that experience with him." "I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING" Both swimmers, who competed at the Singapore National Age Group Championships in the past, said the country has played a role in their growth as athletes. Weiler Sastre, who now studies at Virginia Tech university, credited her former Nexus coach Ivan Bunakov with helping to shape the "trajectory" of her swimming. "He taught me a lot about discipline ... and I really do think that helped me work hard in the US." In the United States, Weiler Sastre now trains under Sergio Lopez, the former coach of Singapore's only Olympic champion Joseph Schooling. "He's almost like a father figure to me. We're really close and he's helped me with a lot in the three years that I've been with him," said Weiler Sastre. "I think that he is one of the best coaches that there is." Cassin, 21, moved to Singapore at the age of nine after his mother found a job here. He then lived in Singapore for almost a decade. "It was definitely a big change (to come to Singapore) ... I never expected that I would be here for ten years," he said. "I definitely wouldn't be at the level of swimming I'm at now if I had never took this opportunity," said Cassin, who is the Irish national record holder in the men's 400m individual medley. "It's been such a good experience, I wouldn't trade it for anything." Cassin said there was a "huge" difference in access to facilities in Singapore, compared with Ireland. "Singapore is such a small country but you've so many pools ... Whereas other countries don't have that. In Ireland, we have two 50m pools and (the country) is 100 times the size of Singapore," he added. "In international schools, you have the pool and it's right next to the school, so it's just the convenience of it as well. It makes such a difference." Cassin will take to the pool again for the 4x100m medley relay on Sunday, the final day of competition.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Milner to honour former teammate Jota with jersey number switch
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Brighton & Hove Albion's James Milner will don the number 20 shirt this season as a tribute to former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in Spain last month. Jota and his brother Andre Silva were killed in early July when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames in northwestern Spain. The Portuguese forward had worn the number 20 during his time at Liverpool, where he and Milner played together for three seasons before the veteran midfielder's move to Brighton in 2023. "Once I heard Carlos (Baleba) was looking to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and obviously pay tribute to Diogo Jota," Milner said. "(He was) an amazing player I was fortunate to play with and a great friend as well. So it'd be a great honour to wear his number in the Premier League." Liverpool are permanently retiring the number 20 after consultation with the player's wife Rute and family. The squad number will not be used at any level, including the women's team and academy. The 39-year-old Milner recently agreed a one-year contract extension with Brighton and is chasing Premier League history of his own. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Tech Reporting suspected advanced cyber attacks will provide a defence framework: Shanmugam Business Singapore's US tariff rate stays at 10%, but the Republic is not out of the woods yet Asia Asia-Pacific economies welcome new US tariff rates, but concerns over extent of full impact remain Business ST explains: How Trump tariffs could affect Singapore SMEs, jobs and markets Asia Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupts Singapore Thundery showers expected on most days in first half of August Singapore Synapxe chief executive, MND deputy secretary to become new perm secs on Sept 1 Singapore 5 women face capital charges after they were allegedly found with nearly 27kg of cocaine in S'pore With 638 Premier League appearances already to his name, he sits within striking distance of Gareth Barry's all-time record of 653 games. REUTERS
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Qin Haiyang hails ‘miracle of Lane 8' after winning 200m breaststroke at World Aquatics C'ships
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Qin Haiyang of China celebrates after winning the Men's 200m Breaststroke held at the WCH Arena on Aug 1. SINGAPORE – Having qualified with the slowest time in the men's 200m breaststroke final, there was a huge question mark over Chinese swimmer Qin Haiyang's hopes of a golden double at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Singapore. While he had swept all three breaststroke events at the 2023 edition in Fukuoka, where he also set the 200m world record of 2min 5.48sec, he has been struggling for consistency of late. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, he finished seventh in the 100m breast final and could not even reach the 200m final. He won the 100m gold and 50m bronze at the WCH Arena in Singapore, but the Jekyll and Hyde showing continued as he nearly missed the 200m final again, finishing eighth overall in the semi-finals on July 30 in 2:09.32, just 0.28sec clear of the ninth-placed swimmer, Britain's Gregory Butler. As the attention centred on the top qualifiers – Japan's Ippei Watanabe, American A.J. Pouch and Dutchman Caspar Corbeau – in the Aug 1 final, Qin stole the thunder from Lane 8, one of the outermost lanes, as he touched the wall first in 2:07.41. Watanabe was second in 2:07.70, with Corbeau just 0.03sec behind in third. As Qin rose from the water, he raised his arms in triumph while the Chinese fans roared their approval. 'Have you heard of the Lane 8 miracle? You saw it tonight,' he said. 'When I finished, I actually didn't know if I finished first, second or third. I just heard 'wooooo'. 'For me, the gold medal isn't actually the most important thing. Regardless of whether I won the gold medal today or not, what I truly wanted was to achieve a better performance in terms of my results.' While Qin was about two seconds slower than his world record, American Kate Douglass was less than a second from the world mark of 2:17.55 in the women's 200m breaststroke final. The 23-year-old eventually finished in a championship-record 2:18.50, eclipsing the previous mark of 2:19.11 set by Denmark's Rikke Pedersen in 2013. Russian Evgeniia Chikunova, the world record holder who was competing as a neutral athlete, was second in 2:19.96, with South African Kaylene Corbett and Belarusian neutral athlete Alina Zmushka joint third (2:23.52). Douglass said that she was not upset to have missed the world record, adding: 'I think that win was huge, not just for me, but for the whole team. I wanted to just get a gold for Team USA and to help our medal count here.' 'Honestly, I was really happy with that time... I was hoping to get under 2:19 and I was just hoping to really have a good race and hopefully get my hand on the wall first,' she added. Kate Douglass of the US breaking the championship record in the women's 200m breaststroke. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG In the men's 200m backstroke final, Paris Olympic gold medallist Hubert Kos clocked 1:53.19 to reclaim the title that the Hungarian won in Fukuoka, while also breaking the European record. South Africa's Pieter Coetze was second in 1:53.36, with Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard third (1:54.62). '(Winning) was great. I'll be honest, I don't feel great after that. I've had a tough schedule here and really, really happy with how things turned out,' said Kos. 'It's a great learning process and I think I might be happy with that.' He had just earned a bronze in the 200m medley the night before, having also finished fourth in the 100m back final on July 29 and taken part in the 4x100m freestyle relay on July 27. He has one last event in the 50m back , with the heats and semi-finals on Aug 2 and the final on Aug 3 . In the women's 100m free, Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen retained her title, clocking 52.55sec, ahead of Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan (52.67) and American Torri Huske (52.89). Steenbergen, who finished seventh at the Paris Olympics, said: 'For me, this year was better. (Winning for) the first time, you don't have that much pressure (but) the second time, people expect more of you because you're the reigning world champion.' With Olympic gold medallist Sarah Sjostrom on maternity leave and Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey out with an injury, Steenbergen said the field here is 'really different', adding: 'I don't know if it's tougher here (but) I think the world championships is always tough to race.' In the day's final race, Britain's Matthew Richards, James Guy, Jack McMillan and Duncan Scott took home the gold in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay in 6:59.84. China's Ji Xinjie, Pan Zhanle, Wang Shun and Zhang Zhanshuo claimed silver in 7:00.91, breaking the Asian record set by South Korea (7:01.73) at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Australia's quartet of Flynn Southam, Charlie Hawke, Kai James Taylor and Maximillian Giuliani finished third in 7:00.98. McMillan said: 'I said to the boys that we can't think this is normal. This is pretty special and we can't take it for granted at all because (it was) so hard fought. 'Everyone is kind of looking at us now and challenging us. No matter what way we swim, they're looking to get at us. We've got good depth in this event and that drives each of us as well.' Singapore (7:23.00) were 15th of 16 in the heats.
