Ding Junhui

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Ding.
Ding Junhui
Born April 1, 1987 (1987-04-01) (age 21),
Yixing, Jiangsu
Nationality Flag of the People's Republic of China Chinese
Nickname(s) Star of the East
Enter The Dragon
Professional 2003 – present
Highest ranking #9 (07/08)
2008/09 ranking #11
Career winnings GB£379,350
Highest break 147 (2007 Masters)
Tournament wins
Ranking 3
Non-ranking 1

Ding Junhui (simplified Chinese: 丁俊晖; traditional Chinese: 丁俊暉; pinyin: Dīng Jùnhuī; sometimes referred to as Jun-hui Ding in the West; born April 1, 1987) is a Chinese snooker player, born in Yixing, Jiangsu (near Shanghai), and is now a resident of England during the snooker season. Although naturally gifted, he is known for his fragile temperament and inconsistency.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Ding started playing snooker at the age of nine, when his father took him to the Chinese national team training centre near Shanghai. His father persuaded his mother to sell their house in order for Ding to continue playing snooker as a career.[1] He practices for eight hours every day.

In 2003, he became the number one rank player in China.[2]

Ding shot to international prominence in 2002, when he won the Asian Under-21 Championship, the Asian Championship and the IBSF World Under-21 Championship.[3] He was unable to progress much in 2003, as both the Asian Championship and Under-21 Championship had to be cancelled because of the SARS virus crisis[3], but he was a semi-finalist in the IBSF World Under-21 championship[4], and was awarded a Main Tour concession by the WPBSA, which enabled him to turn professional in September 2003.[3]

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 2004 and 2005

In February 2004, Ding was awarded a wildcard entry to the Masters in London, where, in the first round, he defeated the then world no. 16-ranked player, Joe Perry,[5] before narrowly losing 6-5 in the second round to experienced top player Stephen Lee after holding a 2-5 lead over him.[6] His performance favourably impressed many commentators, who since then rated him a likely future World Champion.

In March 2005, he celebrated his 18th birthday by reaching the final of the China Open in Beijing, along the way defeating world top-16 ranked players Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu and Ken Doherty. In that final he played against then world no.-3-ranked Stephen Hendry, whom he beat by 9 frames to 5, to score his first ranking tournament win.

In December 2005, he beat another crop of (now former) world top-16 players, namely Jimmy White, the late Paul Hunter and Joe Perry once more on his way to reaching the final of another major tournament, the UK Championship at the Barbican Centre in York. This time he met the resurgent snooker legend Steve Davis in the final, and defeated him by ten frames to six, in doing so becoming the first player from outside Britain or Ireland to win that particular title. Following this victory, his world ranking was provisionally raised from 60 (62 at the start of the season) to 31. At the end of the season, he was ranked 27th. This means that now he does not have to pre-qualify for various tournaments, and only has to win one match to reach the World Championships in Sheffield.

Medal record
Men's Snooker
Asian Games
Gold 2006 Doha Individual
Gold 2006 Doha Doubles
Gold 2006 Doha Team

[edit] 2006 and 2007

In the 2006 China Open he gave his home crowd a good run for their money, but lost 6-2 to the eventual winner Mark J. Williams in the semi-finals.

On 19 August 2006, he beat Stephen Lee 6-1, and reached the final of the Northern Ireland Trophy, meeting Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final the following day. He beat O'Sullivan 9-6 to claim his third ranking tournament win,[7] becoming only the third person ever to do so before his twentieth birthday,[7] after O'Sullivan and John Higgins.[7] This win pushed his provisional world ranking position up to fifth.

In December 2006, he won three gold medals at the Asian Games, winning the Single, Double and Team Snooker competitions. The following week, he reached, as the defending champion, the quarterfinal stage of the 2006 UK Snooker Championship,[8] and subsequently lost to his practice partner and eventual winner, Peter Ebdon, by 9 frames to 5.[8]

On 1 January 2007, he narrowly defeated Cao Xinlong 5-4 to reach the final of the Chinese National Snooker Championship in East China's Yixing, Jiangsu province, his home town. The following day, he beat Xiao Guodong in the final by 6 frames to 2, in doing so becoming the national champion once again.[9]

On 14 January 2007, Ding made a 147 break in the opening match of the Saga Insurance Masters against Anthony Hamilton.[10] It was the first maximum in the competition since that of Kirk Stevens in 1984, which was also the only one up to then.[10] Additionally, Ding is the youngest player to make a 147 during a televised session (a record previously held by Ronnie O'Sullivan),[10] and became the first Chinese snooker player in the history of BBC's coverage to make a televised maximum. He went on to make the final of the tournament[11], becoming the second youngest player to reach a Masters final. In it he made a confident start by winning the first two frames. However, O'Sullivan went on to produce what many regard as one of the finest displays of snooker ever seen on television. His dominance, along with the boisterous and hostile nature of the crowd, left Ding in tears during the twelfth frame, trailing 8-3 in the best of 19 frames contest. The latter appeared resigned to defeat, taking little time to consider his shot selection, and after the frame shook hands with O'Sullivan, after which the two walked arm in arm to the dressing room area, but because it had only been the last frame before the mid-session interval, and so indeed not the very last frame of the match, no-one knew if he had conceded the match, believed the match was over or was just congratulating O'Sullivan on his formidable play. He ultimately lost the match on the next frame, and later claimed that he thought the match was indeed a "best of 17".[12]

He was next bumped out of two tournaments in a row in the first rounds, losing 5-2 to Stephen Maguire in the first round of the Malta Cup[13] and 5-1 to Jamie Cope in the opening round of the Welsh Open.[14] By 14 March 2007, however, Ding had qualified for the televised final stages of the World Championships for the first time by beating Mark Davis in the final qualifying round.[15] However, his losing streak in ranking tournaments that season continued with a 5-3 first round loss to Barry Hawkins in the China Open and a 10-2 loss against Ronnie O'Sullivan in the World Snooker Championship, but he still ended the season ranked in ninth place, his highest ever ranking. In September 2007, he joined other top snooker players and other stars from film, sport, television and music at inter-dealer broker BGC's 3rd Annual Charity Day to help raise funds for a number of charities.[citation needed]

Currently, Ding Junhui holds the record for the most unanswered points (495) in any snooker tournament. This was during the Betfred Premier League against Stephen Hendry.

[edit] Tournament Wins

[edit] Ranking event wins

[edit] Non ranking

[edit] References

  1. ^ Said by Clive Everton/John Virgo on BBC Two, April 22, 2007, in Ding's first-round match versus Ronnie O'Sullivan at the World Snooker Championship 2007.
  2. ^ Ding's official site, accessed February 11, 2007
  3. ^ a b c Janie Watkins (2006). Player Profile: Ding Jun Hui. The Global Cue Sports Centre. Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
  4. ^ Janie Watkins (2005). 2003 IBSF World Under 21 Championship: Knock Out Draw. The Global Cue Sports Centre. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
  5. ^ Shea, Julian. "Ding wins on debut'", February 2, 2004. At BBC.co.uk; last accessed January 19, 2007.
  6. ^ Shea, Julian. "Lee ends Ding hopes'", February 3, 2004. At BBC.co.uk; last accessed January 19, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c "Ding beats O'Sullivan in NI final'", August 20 2006. At BBC.co.uk; last accessed January 19, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Champion Ding defeated by Ebdon'", December 13, 2006. At BBC.co.uk; last accessed January 22, 2007.
  9. ^ Liu Dan. "Chinese snooker talent Ding retains national title", Xinhua, 2007-01-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-02. 
  10. ^ a b c '"Ding compiles maximum at Masters'", January 14, 2007. At BBC.co.uk; last accessed January 17, 2007.
  11. ^ While Ding Falls, Chinese Snooker Rises. China Daily (2007). Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
  12. ^ O'Sullivan praises 'prodigy' Ding. World Snooker (2007). Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
  13. ^ Davis makes early Malta Cup exit. BBC Sport (2007-01-29). Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  14. ^ Cope eases through in Welsh Open. BBC Sport (2007-02-14). Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  15. ^ Phil Yates. "Ding’s test on way to Crucible", The Times, 2007-03-15. Retrieved on 2007-03-15. 

[edit] External links

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