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All eyes on Ding once again

Profile: Ding Junhui (China)
Cue Sports (Snooker)

Watch out: Ding Junhui is after the gold medal once more

Confidence has never been a problem for China’s Ding Junhui, who enters the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 as overwhelming favourite to retain the gold medal he won as a 15 year-old in South Korea four years ago.

Ding, who as a teenage spectator once challenged a professional player for a game during the interval of a tournament in Guangzhou, South China, carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders in Doha in December.

The heavy burden of expectation should not be a problem however as Ding has never been out of the limelight since easily beating Thai ace Supoj Saenla, a player seven years his senior, 3-1 in the 14th Asian Games Busan 2002 final.

As Cui Zhiqiang, the team manager at the time, said: “There had been great pressure on the boy because he wanted to play well for his country but he brought out his full potential when it mattered.”

Since then Ding has gone on to fulfil his potential on the world stage, enjoying a meteoric rise to the top by mixing sublime skill with an icy temperament that belies his years.

Ding made a big impression on his professional debut in 2004 when he was given a wildcard to the Masters at Wembley, United Kingdom.

A surprise victory over Joe Perry, one of the world’s top 16, marked him out as a potential star of the game with many commentators believing he was a world champion in the making.

A great talent

It did not take Ding long to claim his first professional title and there was no better place for him to do it than on his 18th birthday at the Haidian Stadium in Beijing at the China Open, against one of the sport’s legends.

Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry was beaten 9-5 in a final watched by a television audience of around 100million, signalling Ding’s arrival in the big time.

"I didn't feel any pressure because I just looked at it as a practice match to learn from Stephen,” Ding revealed coolly.

Hendry in turn was full of admiration, saying: “Ding's a great talent. There's no doubt about that and what he did in front of his home crowd was a real achievement.”

The fear was whether Ding could produce the same standard of play outside of Asia, but those questions were quickly quashed in December last year when the Chinese became the first non-British or Irish winner of the UK Championship, the second biggest event in snooker.

Ding cruised through the early rounds in York, England, and then beat Neil Robertson and Perry in the quarterfinal and semifinal. “Ding's white-ball control was absolutely fantastic,” admitted the vanquished Robertson. “I don't know if anyone else is quite so good at that, apart from Ronnie O’Sullivan.”

A 10-6 victory over six-time world champion Steve Davis in the final followed, a victory as resounding as the scoreline suggests, with Ding more than matching the old master for tactical and positional play. "There are loads of people who can pot balls but his level of maturity marks him out as something special," said Davis.

Something special: how leading players have described Ding

Favourite for gold

Ding then claimed his third ranking title at the Northern Ireland Trophy in August this year, beating O’Sullivan 9-6 in the final. The success made him only the third player after O’Sullivan and John Higgins to win three top titles before turning 20.

The feat caps a remarkable ascent that began when Ding picked up a cue for the first time because of boredom at the age of nine and joined his father for a game. A year later he had become unbeatable in his hometown of Yixing, Jiangsu, near Shanghai, and soon he was attracting attention from the Chinese Billiards Association.

By the age of 11 Ding was practicing eight hours a day and it is this dedication that he hopes can inspire other promising players from Asia, such as compatriots Liang Wenbo and Liu Song and Thailand’s Issara Kachaiwong, all of whom will be competing in Doha.

"When I was young I moved away from home to South China and I was taught by experienced players,” he said. "Players such as Liang and Liu are at a similar level and they will learn much from playing in the UK, as I have done.”

Maybe so in the future, but they will have to make great strides if they are to prevent Ding from standing on top of the medal rostrum in Doha.