During a press interview on April 3, in his understated manner, 18-year-old Ding Junhui explained, "This is an important moment of my life." That was the day after he won the World Snooker China Open. Seven days before, the day the prestigious tournament began, few could have guessed that this young man from Jiangsu Province would sweep Stephen Hendry, one of the world's top snooker players.
Born to Snooker
If he did not discover his special talent, Ding would likely have led a simple life as part of an ordinary small-town Chinese family. But, in 1996, Ding, then only a second-grade elementary school student, became enchanted with snooker. "Our home was near his school, and there was a billiard table just a few steps away," his mother explains. "I would go to his school to pick him up and find him playing snooker with other kids. We didn't take it seriously at that time, thinking he was just fooling around. Then one day his father discovered that in just one year, Ding no longer had any rivals in school."
Ding recalls, "At about nine, I made up my mind to become a professional snooker player and I stuck to it."
A House is Sold - A Gambit Pays Off
In 1998, Ding was already well-known in his hometown, Yixing County, for his proficiency at snooker. Ren Haojiang, a renowned snooker player, went to Yixing especially to coach Ding. Recalling their first meeting, Ren said: "I was greatly taken back. It was incredible." Ding's height was not 140cm at the time. When placing the pink-six ball, he had to use a hack lever. And Ding made an impression, playing 25-year-old Ren to 4-4 draws. "Ding was then only 11," Ren explains.
Ding began to participate in senior national events even before his height equaled the length of his snooker cue. Before long his adult opponents found themselves incapable of defeating the boy. In 1998, recognizing his son's innate talent, Ding Wenjun quit his job and took Ding south to Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, where the opportunity to train was much better.
The father's faith and commitment paid off. On April 3, 2005, the 18-year-old wildcard at the China Open won six consecutive matches, beating such big shots as Peter Ebdon, Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry.
"I am proud of my son when I see him playing with those snooker giants, but we have gone through a very tough process," said the father. "In the past 10 years, to him I devoted all my money and time. I even sold our house in Jiangsu Province so he could play more tournaments." The time they arrived at Gongguan City was particularly difficult. The entire family was boxed up in a nine-square-meter shabby rental house. "Mom cried often, for we sold our house and virtually had nothing left at that time," Ding said. He recalled that he would try to comfort his mother, telling her, "I will try my best to win our house back with my cue."
A Rare Road to Success
Compared to other Chinese snooker players, Ding can count himself lucky.
Since winning an Asian Championship title in 2002, he was propelled into the ranks of the world's snooker elite. Now he makes a comfortable living from prize money at top-level tournaments.
His compatriot, Liu Song, another promising star of the green baize, has so far not been as lucky as Ding. "You can not rely on a source of income if you cannot win the matches in Britain," said Liu. Liu had to fork out 120,000 yuan just to take part in the 2004-2005 season. Then he took just one qualifier. "My parents have invested so much that I have no choice but to go back to the tour next season and try to win a bonus," said Liu. "Further development is out of the question, if I can not even feed myself there," he added.
Indeed, for ordinary families, it is impossible to financially support the necessary training of their children in England, where monthly expenses run to more than 10,000 yuan - while the prize for winning a domestic tournament title is usually no more than 10,000 yuan.
For players like Ding, who has already built their reputation, opportunities for attending matches are plenty. Even such high-profile snooker events such as The Wembley Masters send them wild card invites. But lack of finances have crushed the dreams of many other snooker players.
For players who have not had the opportunity to attend such matches, their accumulative scores and rankings are hard to elevate. Moreover, although the development of snooker has seen huge progress in China in recent years, a nationwide training system, from grassroots to national level, is badly needed. For now, Chinese snooker players face the same obstacle as other non-Olympic competitors in China: they get little financial backing from authorities.
"I don't think China lacks promising players," explains Liang Wenbo, of Heilongjiang Province, who fought through to the qualifying round of the China Open, but lost to Mark Williams in the first round. "There are many excellent teenage players in my hometown, but they can not carry on their career as there are no decent coaches and teams."
"We are not sitting here and doing nothing, as we do want to help the players and the sport, but our strength is so limited," said an official from the China Billiards Association, who declined to give his name. "I hope Ding plays better and better in the future," he said, adding, "Ding draws a lot of attention and that will help the sport in the future." Hu Jianguo, director of national multi-ball administrative center of General Administration of Sport, said: "This is a significant victory for the country. Ding's success is the result of years of hard-work as well as the achievement of generations of snooker players in China."
Career highlights:
2000: Asian Invitation (at the age of 13): third place.
2000: The national Juniors Championships: winner.
2002: The Asian Championships: winner.
2002: The World Under-21 Championship in Latvia: winner.
2002: The World Snooker Championships in Egypt: third place.
2004: The British Open: last 16.
2004: The Wembley Masters: last 16.
2005: The Wembley Masters: last 8.
2005: China Open: winner.
(China Pictorial June 24, 2005)
