Sawt Falasteen - Snooker star Zhao: from ban to Chinese sporting history

But now 28, Zhao has surpassed his compatriot's notable achievements by becoming China's first world snooker champion in stunning style on Monday.

Zhao defeated three-time world champion Mark Williams 18-12 in the final to clinch the title at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on Monday.

The left-hander's unexpected triumph is the culmination of a redemption story that ensures him a place in Chinese sporting history.

Zhao's journey from first picking up a cue aged eight to glory in his maiden appearance in the World Snooker Championship final has not been without controversy.

The 2021 UK Championship winner was playing at the Crucible as an amateur as he continued his comeback from a 20-month ban for his involvement in a major betting scandal.

Chinese players in recent years have become a significant force in snooker, but in 2023, 10 players from the country were banned in a match-fixing case that shook the sport to its foundations.

Two players, Liang Wenbo and Li Hang, were banned for life.

Zhao's suspension was the shortest, reflecting the fact that while he bet on matches, he did not throw them.

- Away from home -

Like many of the Chinese players now making a name for themselves, Zhao has made the northern English city of Sheffield his base.

Zhao is with the Chinese-run Victoria's Snooker Academy, a two-floor facility just 10 minutes by foot from the Crucible.

Not far away there is also the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy.

A record 10 Chinese were among the final 32 players competing at the Crucible, reflecting just how prominent the country now is in the sport.

For many of them, including Zhao, it all comes back to Ding, China's first snooker star.

"My goal when I was younger was to become someone like Ding Junhui," a 17-year-old Zhao told a Chinese documentary in 2015 called, "Becoming Ding Junhui".

The so-called grandfather of Chinese snooker won the UK Championship three times and the Masters in 2011.

Ding lost the world championship final against Mark Selby in 2016.

- 'Luckiest kid in the world' -

Zhao was born in the tourist city of Xian but as a child moved to the metropolis of Shenzhen, just over the border from Hong Kong, when his parents went there for work.

An only child, Zhao's father Zhao Xiaowei is the vice-president of a hospital and his mother, Wen Anxiao, is a nurse in the same hospital.

Zhao first became interested in snooker because of some tables set up outside small stores near his home.

As his interest grew, his parents put a snooker table in one of the rooms in their home and made it his practice room.

Even then, as is typical for many Chinese parents, they were sceptical about his sporting ambitions and wanted him to study.

In the documentary, Zhao's mother recalls: "I asked him, when you've finished university what job will you do?

"He said, 'Play snooker'. He said it very firmly, he didn't need to think about it."

She says that was the moment she decided to fully support his decision to make snooker his life.

Acknowledging that support from his parents, Zhao said: "I'm the luckiest kid in the snooker world."

The same programme includes a ringing endorsement from Ding's father, calling Zhao his "favourite" player and a "rare" talent.

"There's no problem with this child's character," he says.

Seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is another big fan of Zhao, even after suffering a crushing 17-7 semi-final defeat to him in Sheffield last week.

The two have been known to practise and dine together, and they shared a warm embrace in the dressing rooms after Zhao's devastating display.

Away from snooker and as his fame grows, Zhao's personal life has attracted scrutiny in China.

Several years ago, photos emerged of him with a Chinese student he met in Britain in which he appeared to show off his family's supposed wealth.

One picture showed Zhao sitting in the boot of a Rolls Royce.

After Monday's stunning success, Zhao has the riches of the snooker world at his feet.

N.Awad--SF-PST