Four years ago, the then 15-year-old snooker sensation Ding
Junhui said he had his eyes on a chance to compete in England after
winning gold and silver medals at the Busan Asian Games.
On Tuesday, the cue king said he would try his utmost to defend
the UK championship and thus become the youngest ever World No 1
after winning the men's doubles gold at the Doha Asian Games on
Tuesday.
"Though it was a final, I did not feel any pressure. It was just
any other match," said Ding, who paired with fellow Tian Pengfei to
demolish Marco Fu Ka Chun and Chan Wai Ki of Hong Kong, China by
3-1 (64-66, 102-2, 72-37, 126-7).
"Compared to four years ago, I have improved a lot. And I am
also mentally stronger and have higher goals to achieve," he
said.
Over the past four years, the Chinese "wunderkind" has won three
world titles - the China Open, UK championships and Northern
Ireland Open becoming the second player in history after Ronnie
O'Sullivan to win this triple-crown before the age of 20.
With the UK championship approaching, the world No 4 said he did
not know who he would meet but was fully focused on defending his
title.
"For me, the Asian Games and the UK are the same. Both are very
important to me," he said.
In order to allow Ding to compete in both tournaments, the
organizing committee of Asian Games changed the snooker schedule
since it clashed with the UK championship.
The snooker competition will end today, instead of December 11,
allowing Ding to defend his UK Championship title from December 9.
A second crown in the UK event would move the prodigy close to the
No 1 ranking.
"I do not have enough time to prepare for UK after Asian Games.
But I think the competitions here are the best way to keep form and
gear up," said Ding, who is defending his singles snooker title and
competing for a Chinese team victory.
As a defending champion, Ding may have first round bye but
pressure is still high due to the star-studded line-up looking to
delay the Asian upstart's rise to glory.
"The UK is one of the most significant events to win, which is
very important to my career. But almost all of the top snooker will
take part in the tournament. I will play my games and try not to be
distracted by outside pressure. Being world No 1 is always my dream
and I will fight for it."
(China Daily December 7, 2006)