Column | China's catch-up race at the green table

It could be a large dining table. Almost a table inviting guests to a grand culinary feast. The size would certainly be appropriate: 3556 x 1778 mm. However, this entirely respectable surface isn't being served with finger food and oyster platters, but with balls of various colors, each 52,5 mm in diameter. It's important to note that in this case, all object balls, as they are so aptly called, that aren't red are referred to as colored balls. So, red isn't a color here.

And, quite strangely, there is no merry, boisterous party going on around this table, with glasses clinking, chatty groups standing together, and telling their little lies. The group is well dressed, with bow ties and waistcoats over starched white shirts. The lighting is dim, and there is a rather reverent silence, as if a dignified mass were being celebrated in this hall, which also has spectators seated. But this audience is not inclined to debauchery, to hoot, whistle, or even loudly cheer. That would be inappropriate and in keeping with the occasion. No, here they devote themselves to dignified silence, and when they clap, it is quietly. As if the setting dictated it and allowed nothing else. Even a wink is loud here.

The Snooker World Championship takes place annually in Sheffield. © APA/afp / OLI SCARFF

We're talking about snooker, where two men (why only men?) compete against each other, skillfully using a cue to push the balls into designated openings in the table's frame. The peculiar thing about this is the fact that the potted objects are then placed back on the table. A man—or sometimes a woman—does this in almost reverent calm, while the balls, previously battered by the cue (that's what the stick is called), are stroked with white gloves. As if one knew that violence had been done to them beforehand.

A game of patience It takes a while, for me almost three decades, before you understand what is so special about this game, this sport. I was practically forced to do it, because every time I had to commentate on a subsequent program, I had to wait. And wait and wait, because snooker is not subject to a fixed time schedule. A match lasts as long as it lasts. The recently concluded World Championship in Sheffield again tested my patience a few times in this regard. But these became easier to bear as I grew to understand the complicated procedures of the players. And I have long known that the players themselves only achieve their goals with patience.

Mark Williams had to admit defeat to Zhao Xintong. © APA/afp / OLI SCARFF

I was quite surprised to see a Chinese player in action in almost every match, usually against a Brit. Ten Chinese players had already qualified for the title matches against the – still – numerically superior Brits. And indeed, one from the Middle Kingdom prevailed: 28-year-old Zhao Xintong. On his way to the first world championship victory by a Chinese player, he knocked out snooker icon Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semifinals and then gave three-time champion Mark Williams of Wales no chance in the final.

Another sport in which China could likely dominate the world of sports for years to come, like table tennis or diving. Allegedly, although the figures aren't entirely verifiable, 60 million Chinese already play snooker. That would be as if every Italian (population 58 million) were addicted to the game. And, also allegedly, 500 million Chinese watched the World Championship matches on television.

Ban for betting fraud These are dizzying figures, as always when China, with its 1,42 billion inhabitants, is involved. And so there is a rumor, a very persistent one, that the future champions will soon be crowned in China and no longer, as has always been the case in Sheffield, the Mecca of the sport. Zhao Xintong, by the way, has his permanent home just ten minutes from the "Crucible Theatre", the hallowed halls of snooker. Nothing was left to chance before his triumph. At home, he has long been a superstar. A Pele, a Maradona, a Beckenbauer. And also a millionaire (he received 560.000 euros in prize money for the victory in Sheffield), something he would never have become as a table tennis player or diver.

China has once again embarked on a comeback, just as the great leader Xi Jinping wishes. However, it is also said that he would prefer to be able to play a similar role in football as he currently does in snooker. But all attempts, even with renowned and well-known coaches from Europe (including Marcello Lippi), have not brought the hoped-for success. Not everything can be planned and implemented, and precisely where a great deal of intuition, coupled with a spirit of freedom, is required, China is failing to make progress in sport. Zhao Xintang, for all his natural talent, is someone who was molded from an unimaginably large number of young players to bring honor to China.

Of course, honor is also a problem, as he's currently not allowed to play in his home country. He's been banned for two years for betting fraud, ending June 1 of this year. His snooker veneer is already battling against evil shadows, and the elegant party with the many Chinese guests may, like many in real life, be just a smokescreen.

About the author: Sigi Heinrich The award-winning sports journalist (including the German Television Award, the Bavarian Sports Award, and a nominee for the prestigious Grimme Prize), author, longtime sports editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and commentator for Eurosport since 1989, devotes his weekly column to the full range of sports and enjoys exploring unfamiliar territory. Sometimes with a smile, sometimes thoughtfully or deliberately provocatively. There should be something for everyone.

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Column | China's catch-up race at the green table

With snooker, China is conquering a new sport and could easily overtake Britain as the leading nation, simply because of the unimaginable numbers already playing the game. Our columnist Sigi Heinrich sees parallels to table tennis or diving, where China's athletes have become virtually unbeatable.

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