2017 U21 and U18 World Snooker Championships officially launched
On the evening of July 7th, Beijing time, the 2017 U21 and U18 World Snooker Championship welcome dinner and kick-off ceremony were held at the Temple of Heaven Hotel in Beijing. Mr. Liu Chunsheng, Director of Billiards Project of Small Ball Sports Management Center of State General Administration of Sports, Deputy Secretary-General of China Billiards Association, Mr. Michele Akuri, Director of World Billy and Snooker Federation and Secretary-General of Asian-Taiwan Federation, Dongcheng District, Beijing Mr. Geng Xuesen, Director of Sports Bureau, Mr. Chi Jindong, Deputy Director of Beijing Dongcheng District Sports Bureau, Mr. He Lei, Deputy Director of Competition Center Management Department, Beijing Sports Bureau, Tang Fengxiang, Former Secretary-General of China Billiards Association and Senior Advisor of CBSA World Snooker Academy Mr. Zhang Bo, the principal of Beijing Dongcheng District Youth Amateur Sports School, Mr. Liu Zheng, Chairman of Beijing Reggae Culture Media Co., Ltd., and Ms. Luo Peiming, Deputy General Manager of Foshan Nanhai Shendi Sports Equipment Co., Ltd. and other leaders and guests attended. Participating teams from all over the world and domestic mainstream media witnessed the exciting moment of the official launch of the event.
The 2017 U21 and U18 World Snooker Championships are hosted by the International Billy and Snooker Federation and jointly hosted by the Small Ball Sports Management Center of the State General Administration of Sports, the Chinese Billiards Association and Beijing Ruigai Culture Media Co., Ltd. The competition is scheduled to be held at the Beijing Gymnasium of the Training Bureau of the State Sports General Administration from July 8th to 16th. Nearly 140 young snooker players from 28 countries and regions will compete fiercely for the championship honor in three competitions.
The IBSF World Youth Championship was born in 1987 and is an important channel for young snooker players from all over the world to the professional stage. Historically, famous players such as O’Sullivan, Robertson and Dahdi have all won the championship in their youth, and thus embarked on a personal glorious career path.
In the past ten years, billiards have been surging in China, and Chinese power has risen rapidly. Since Ding Junhui won the championship in 2002, the Chinese Army has won 5 trophies in the next 13 sessions. China has left other traditional snooker forces far behind.
There are three groups in this competition, namely men under 21 years old, women under 21 years old and men under 18 years old. Among them, the champion of the men’s under 21 category will be qualified for two seasons. A total of 21 Chinese players participated in the three categories. According to the schedule, the men’s U18 match time is from 8th to 11th, and the men’s and women’s U21 match time is from July 12th to 16th.
