Snooker’s bid to enter the Olympic Games will be boosted by having back-to-back world champions from China, the sport’s top official said on Tuesday.Wu Yize beat Shaun Murphy 18-17 in a dramatic world championship final on Monday to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Zhao Xintong, who became Asia’s first ever world champion 12 months ago.Britain has long been snooker’s traditional stronghold but China — where there are around 300,000 recognized snooker clubs — is the growing force in the game, providing 11 of the 32 players in the main draw of the worlds over the last two weeks and five in the top 16 of the world ranking.Snooker failed in bids to get onto the Olympic program for the first time for the Games in 2021 and 2024, and could launch another attempt ahead of the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, said the IOC “definitely has got eyes on our sport” and the recent successes of Chinese players at the Crucible Theatre can only help.“It’s vitally important,” Ferguson told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “China is a very important country to the IOC — it has been a host of the Games on many occasions and they are heavily invested in sports, in IOC terms.“So the fact that China is a key market for snooker is a really important part about any Olympic bid.”The growth of snooker in other markets — notably in eastern Europe, with Poland having its first player competing in the world championship in Antoni Kowalski this year — is highlighted by the fact there are almost 100 countrie …
