Stars
Right on cue, Liu makes her mark
By Tang Yue (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-21 14:24
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Women's 9-ball world champion Liu Shasha pocketed the best athlete in a non-Olympic event title at last Saturday's 2009 CCTV Sports Personality of the Year Awards ceremony.
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 China's Ding Junhui lines up a shot during the UK Snooker Championships in Telford, central England on Dec 13, 2009. Led by Ding, a group of young stars from China are making their mark on the world stage. [Agencies]
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The prize not only added another piece of silverware to her growing collection but also highlighted a superb year for China in cue sports.
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"Now, we not only have Xiaohui (Ding Junhui) but also Liang Wenbo. We are not only competing well in snooker but also in other cue sports."
The biggest surprise for Wang and fans alike came when 16-year-old Liu became the youngest player to win the women's World 9-ball Championship in Shangyang, Liaoning province, in November. That triumph made her only the second Chinese to win the title, following Pan Xiaoting's feat in 2007.
Liu outshot two-time world champion Liu Shin-mei from Chinese Taipei, Pan and top seed Karen Corr, from Britain, on her way to victory.
Chinese players snared three of the top four places at the Worlds as Pan finished third and Fu Xiaofang was fourth.
This year, more players are looking forward to joining Pan on the Women's Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) tour, which features the world's top 9-ball players.
"Every women's 9-ball player looks forward to playing in the WPBA," 22-year-old Fu said.
One month after the young Chinese women sprung up at the Worlds, the country's best-known snooker player, Ding Junhui, hit peak form after a lean spell by winning his second UK Championship title on Dec 13.
It was the 22-year-old's first major tournament victory since claiming the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy.
"I'm very glad to see him win a tournament again. It's not an easy job to get back to the top after a poor run which spanned two years," said Wang. "It shows he has turned from a talented boy into a real man."
Ding is now the most successful Asian player in professional snooker history. The victory gave Ding, the 2005 UK champion, his fourth ranking event title - surpassing the three won by Thailand's James Wattana.
He also became only the seventh player - after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Doug Mountjoy, Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins - to win the UK title twice.
Liang Wenbo, also 22, reached the quarterfinals at the UK Championship. He was also only the second Chinese player and fourth Asian man to reach a ranking final at September's Shanghai Masters.
There are currently eight Chinese men honing their skills at British academies in an attempt to emulate Ding and Liang's success.
Conversely, more and more of the world's top players are visiting China to compete in events like the Shanghai Masters, the China Open and the International Invitational in Beijing and the Jiangsu Classic.
Also, away from the baize, Star, a Chinese brand, signed a deal in September with the International Billiards & Snooker Federation to be the exclusive table provider at international tournaments over the next five years, replacing British brand Riley. The firm will also sponsor former world champion Hendry this season.
The "star effect" and an increasing number of events are boosting the game at the grassroots level. Over the past four years, the number of billiard clubs in Beijing has risen from 700 to 1,600 while in Shanghai that figure has moved from 600 to 1,300, according to Wang.
"The Chinese players' success will surely drive more youngsters to the sport," Wang said, "I believe it will become even more popular and produce more stars."
