China's Zhao Xintong believes that his victory in the World Snooker Championship marks the beginning of a new chapter in his career, in which he will strive for greater success, and hopes that he can inspire more Chinese people to take up the sport.
On May 5, Zhao etched his name into sporting history by becoming the first Asian to win the World Snooker Championship.
With a commanding victory over three-time world champion Mark Williams, 28-year-old Zhao not only claimed his first world title, but also redefined the global landscape of a sport long dominated by British players.
A week after Zhao's historic triumph, the China Media Group (CMG) sat down with the new "megastar" in Shenzhen City of south China's Guangdong Province, where he grew up.
Zhao recalled the golden memories at Crucible Theater in Sheffield, Britain, saying that he was actually not as calm as the audience saw in the final and didn't slack off even after taking a huge lead.
"Actually, I was very nervous [in the final]. I just tried to maintain my own rhythm. Before the match, I already thought of countless possibilities for the opening. During the match, I just told myself to calm down. Even though I started the match with a 7-1 lead, I didn't feel that I would win the game. In fact, I knew I was still far away [from victory], so I continued to play as usual," he said.
When winning the championship, Zhao said, "I can't believe it. It's like a dream," while raising the Chinese national flag beside the table. His triumph set up another milestone in the Chinese snooker sport. "I think becoming the world champion was a special moment for the snooker game, for me, and even for the Chinese snooker as a whole. Therefore, I thought our national flag must be there at that moment. My mind went blank at that time, but I was really proud of myself," said Zhao.
Zhao's victory added symbolic weight: it is the culmination of China's decades-long efforts to develop snooker from a niche interest to a national movement.
Once there was only Ding Junhui, who reached the World Championship final in 2016, as an elite Chinese player. Now there is a whole generation. A record 10 Chinese players qualified for the main draw at this year's World Championship, six of whom reached the last 16. Moreover, nine Chinese players are currently ranked inside the world's top 32.
Zhao said he welcomes the rising competitors and hopes for a vibrant future of Chinese snooker.
"For every sport, there will be younger athletes achieving better results in a few years. I think this is inevitable, and I think this is a very good thing. It will help the better development of snooker in China and make more people fall in love with this sport," he said.
Although history has been written, this new snooker icon has more ambitious goals: to become the world's number one and achieve the Triple Crown.
"I think the world championship marks a new start for me. I know there is still a long way to go. My career is like a TV series and this was just the first episode. There will be more to come. My goal is to become the world number one and achieve a Grand Slam in the future. I believe I can do it," said Zhao.
World snooker champion opens new career chapter: Zhao Xintong
