Ding Junhui plays a shot to Mark Selby of England in the last phase of their semifinal match during the 2017 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England on April 29. Photo: CFP

 

Ding Junhui, China’s first global snooker star, responded to fans’ concerns about his inconsistent performances after he missed another shot at the 2021 Scottish Open on December 7. 

In the qualification competition, snooker player Zhang Anda beat Ding 3-4, meaning that Ding faces the harsh situation of seeing his world ranking drop to 28th, out of the first-tier player range. 

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I can’t travel between China and the UK very smoothly. I have to make choices to either be in the UK devoted to the competition, or to stay with my family. It’s hard to make both happen,” Ding said to the media. 

Before this disappointing result, Ding appeared to be finding his way back to his best form, after beating Andrew Pagett in the English Open. So the veteran’s rollercoaster performances are puzzling fans. Some said his devotion to the sport had been “shaken” by his dilemma about choosing between family life and his professional career. 

Ding started paying more attention to his family in 2018 when his daughter was born. 

“Maybe it was because he got too successful too early and it bored him. Of course his fame can bring him more resources,” a netizen said on Sina Weibo. 

Ding also joined a number of popular TV reality shows such as Happy Camp and Tian Tian Xiang Shang. 

But Ding is confident he can get back to the top again, and many netizens support him, even though some are paying more attention to 24-year-old snooker player Zhao Xintong who won the UK Championship crown on Monday.

“He represents Chinese snooker. He represents China to knock on the door that was once guarded so hard by the Europeans. New excellent Chinese players like Zhao Xintong may have as much as talent as Ding does, but Ding’s experiences with this sport are invaluable,” Zheng Luyu, a 20-year-old Chinese snooker fan, told the Global Times. 

Ding started his professional snooker career when he was 9 years old, and is regarded as the most successful Asian player in the history of snooker. In 2005, he won the China Open and became the first Chinese player to win the UK Championship.