When Ding Junhui took to
snooker, he never expected himself to be a world champion, a prodigious
millionaire, a national icon and a phenomenon.
The 19-year-old Chinese wunderkid now has won three world titles -- China
Open, UK Open and Northern Ireland Open -- becoming the only second player in
history, the first one being Ronnie O'Sullivan, to pull off such feat before the
age of 20.
"For me it's not a
dream that comes true, as I never dreamed I could do that when I began to play
snooker," Ding said.
When Ding was 11 years old, he quit school to play snooker which was anathema
to Chinese traditional value advocating that children should get good education
for future development. Even his mother Chen Xijuan took much exception to his
move.
"Junhui was an excellent and promising student at that time," she said. "I
thought it would put his future at stake to quit school for snooker. But his
father thought otherwise. He said Junhui could go to university to get education
after making his mark in snooker."
His father's view prevailed and the couple spent more than what they had to
finance Ding's career.
"We soon went bust as it took so much money to fund him," Chen recounted. "We
were saddled with huge debts and life became increasingly hard. But we never
wavered in supporting him as we were confident that he would one day succeed."
Ding usually spent eight to ten hours every day in the poolroom playing
snooker alone. He said snooker occupied all his life.
"I sometimes got bored. I also wanted to stop and go out to frolic with other
children. But I couldn't. My parents had given up all for me, so I had no other
options but play snooker. I had to play. "
Their tremendous efforts finally paid off in April, 2005 when Ding claimed
the title of China Open as a wild-card entrant. He caused a sensation last
December when he beat Nuggets Steve Davis to win the UK Open.
These two world titles made him a household name in China and sponsorship
began pouring in.
"Ding Junhui is now a national icon and rated in recognition only behind NBA
player Yao Ming and world hurdle record holder Liu Xiang," said Fan Rongjian,
vice president of Beijing Star Group which is the leader of China's snooker
industry.
"After he won the UK Open, my company was swamped with calls asking how to
make the next Ding Junhui," Fan said.
Ding's success in the arena also salvaged China's withering snooker and
billiards industry, according to Gan Lianfang, vice president of Chinese snooker
and billiards association.
"The industry faced a meltdown in early 2000's as people became uninterested
in billiards and snooker, and a lot of companies and clubs folded," Gan said.
"But after Ding stamped his mark in snooker's international arena, he
resurrected the industry almost single-handedly. We call this as Phenomenon of
Ding Junhui," he said.
Snooker and billiards clubs mushroomed throughout China thanks to Ding's
success, Gan said.
Ding is now No. 5 in world snooker rankings and is poised to reach the top
spot, according to the insiders.
"He is a fantastic players with surprising talents, he enjoys the play and is
always learning. Definitely he will become No. one," said O'Sullivan.
O'Sullivan's view was echoed by the chief editor of Snooker Scene, Clive
Everton. "Ding has all what it takes to be World No. one. I think he will reach
that spot this year or next year," the pundit said.
But for Ding, it is not within his radar to be top ranked.
"I never dreamed to become world number one, even now I don't imagine about
it. I am a doer instead of thinker. What I should do is to improve my skills,"
he said.
A clinical hitter in the arena, Ding acts like a child off it.
"If you ask him: what is your childhood? He can say nothing about it because
he has no childhood. He gave all of it to snooker, maybe that is the price he
should paid for success," his mother Chen Xijuan said.
"Though he is 19 years old, indeed he is not grown-up. When back at home, he
likes to play video games and adores teddy bears. He is still a child now making
up for what he had lost in his childhood," said Chen.
