Ding Junhui won 5 consecutive victories and pointed to the 15th crown, which is the rise of "Chinese snooker".
129-0, 123-0, 97-0, 84-0, these numbers that make the opponent powerless to fight back, are not showing off their scores, but Ding Junhui's "slaughter" record along the way. The Snooker International Championship reached the semifinals, Ding Junhui was in a hot state, crushing his opponents all the way, and it seemed that he was only one step away from his 15th ranking championship.
To be honest, Chinese snooker used to be only "small transparent" in the international arena. Although Ding Junhui has begun to emerge in 2002, at that time, British athletes were almost "domineering presidents" in this event, and Chinese athletes were basically in the role of "escort". However, the current Chinese snooker is no longer the "hanged" role of the past. Ding Junhui, Xu Si, Yuan Sijun, Jiang Jun and other new and old faces stirred up this table that was once monopolized by Western players, allowing the world to see the power of China.
In this competition, Ding Junhui's performance can be described as hearty. The scores of 6-0 and 6-1 in the first two rounds directly sent away the opponent, then solved Jiang Jun 6-3, and then "cleaned up" Ayuri and this year's world champion Kyren Wilson 6-0 and 6-4, and steadily entered the semifinals. Looking back at his opponents, some are veterans for many years, and some are top seeded players, but in front of Ding Junhui, they all seem to be "novices on the road". The scores of the opponents who "kept clean" one by one made people wonder: is there any suspense in this game?
And this is not only good news for Ding Junhui alone. Yuan Sijun, also from China, also showed good strength, defeating the experienced Holt 6-4 in the second round, breaking 100 in four shots and 50+ in two strokes, which is completely top-level. However, although Yuan Sijun has strength, the stability of his state is slightly inferior, and he lost to Jiang Jun in the third round and stopped in the top 16. Although Jiang Jun defeated Yuan Sijun, he still fell behind in the next game against Ding Junhui and finally went out 3-6.
In the semifinals, Ding Junhui had to face Xu Si. This Chinese derby, in addition to personal honor, carries high hopes for the rise of Chinese snooker. Back then, the road to "going to sea" for Chinese snooker was not smooth, and many players were "stage frightened" in international competitions because of their lack of experience and poor psychological quality, and they repeatedly returned home. Today, Ding Junhui stands on the international stage as an example, inspiring countless younger generations with victories. Under his leadership, more and more young players have begun to emerge in the international arena, showing the amazing strength and potential of "Chinese Snooker".
Ding Junhui's impact on the 15th crown is not only a person standing at the peak, but also a generation of Chinese snooker players to announce to the world: We are not only here to learn and participate, but to compete and win honors!
So in the end, the editor would like to ask: Now that Ding Junhui is no longer a lone traveler, and the Chinese snooker team is getting bigger and bigger, will it completely belong to "Chinese time" in the international arena in the future? What do you think about this?