Wang Tao, Deputy Secretary of the China Taiwan Association: I hope that my country will usher in the second spring of billiards

With Robertson defeating Lisowski in the final, another World Snooker China Open came to an end. Wang Tao, vice chairman and secretary-general of the Chinese Billiards Association, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters that billiards is undergoing a new stage of development in China, and he looks forward to the “second spring”.

“The China Open has been successfully held in Beijing for 15 consecutive years. It has become a business card for Beijing and for snooker sports. Ding Junhui’s victory in 2005 also added a touch of brightness to this business card.” Wang Tao said.

At the China Open that year, Ding Junhui defeated “Billiard Emperor” Hendry and won his first ranking championship, which also put the development of Chinese billiards into the fast lane. Fifteen years later, the speed in the lane has slowed down.

Wang Tao said frankly that in the past few years, China’s billiards population was about 70 to 80 million, but the choices of the masses are now more diverse. According to statistics, the number of billiard halls has been reduced by about 20%, and the current billiards population is about 50 million. “However, the current competition system for the three billiards (snooker, Chinese, and 9-ball) has been completed, so the impact is relatively small.”

Wang Tao said that the association is also considering whether to place the China Open in a second, third or even fourth-tier city. “Has it completed a mission in a historical period, or should it be changed?”

Jiangxi Yushan previously hosted the Snooker World Open and the Chinese Billiards World Championships, where the enthusiasm of the audience left a deep impression on Wang Tao. “The games in Yushan are full, and the people feel that it is very happy to be able to see a professional event. (China Open) such a good event should be where the people need it, and we will put it wherever it is. go with.”

“zero tolerance”

Before the Chinese Billiards World Championships at the beginning of the year, the China Taiwan Association made an additional life-long ban on Yu Delu who played counterfeiting.

In May 2018, Yu Delu was temporarily suspended for gambling and was investigated. In December, the results of the investigation were released. He was banned for 10 years and 9 months by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association for manipulating the game and getting rewards. The additional punishment of the China Taiwan Association directly announced the end of his career.

“The relevant lottery is actually a legal category in the UK, but every player will sign an agreement on the day they enter a professional event. Players and related parties are strictly prohibited from participating.” Wang Tao revealed that there have been some small signs before, 2016 In 1988, she made a special trip to England to give warning education classes to the players in England. After that, similar situations rarely occurred, but Yu Delu didn’t stop. “Therefore, in order to clean up the environment, we have imposed a lifetime ban on it. Match-fixing, gambling, and doping issues should be zero tolerance in the sports industry.”

At the same time as the ticket was issued, the China Taiwan Association also issued three policies: signing a joint supervision of players agreement with the World Taiwan Association; establishing a professional snooker player committee; and conducting warning education sessions before all domestic competitions.

“Ding Junhui, Liang Wenbo and Tian Pengfei in the Players Committee are all clean players for all to see, and there are representatives sent by the association.” Wang Tao said that the association is currently cooperating with companies to establish a training academy in Sheffield, UK, and use social resources to go to the UK to participate in professional The players of the tournament are integrated, and their training and life are both supervised and guaranteed.

“After Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo, we also trained a group of players, but the young players must first be self-disciplined if they want to emerge. It is really hard to get results if you can’t stand the temptation and can’t stand loneliness.” Wang Tao said. The establishment of the above-mentioned training academy is one of the targeted measures of the China Taiwan Association.

under reform

According to Wang Tao, the substantive reform of the China Taiwan Association is already in progress. It has now been separated from the management of the Small Ball Sports Management Center of the State Sports General Administration, and there will be general elections in the future. “After decoupling, we will not rely on the General Administration of Sports as before. We need our association to have a stronger sense of responsibility. Of course, after decoupling, the infrastructure of the association is more important, and more capable and business-oriented social talents can be absorbed to lay a solid foundation. This is a good thing for the promotion of billiards.”

Wang Tao revealed that the association is actively striving to bring billiards into the 2021 National Games. “If billiards can really enter the next National Games, it will be very helpful to the entire project.”

Regarding the next step of the plan, Wang Tao said: “We will carry out a variety of billiards activities, to trade unions, to the private sector, and even to the countryside.” She said: “Let everyone host the game together and bring the game to the masses. Only by implementing it layer by layer can Chinese billiards have a second spring.”