Ding Junhui talks to Xinhua intern reporter Ru Ge at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. (Xinhua/Wang Zijiang)
Top Chinese potter and world No. 4 Ding Junhui says he is looking toward his future at the Snooker World Championship.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the World Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
It will be the 11th time for Ding take part in the Championship. He entered the semifinals in 2011, and successfully reached the final last year. He attributes his success to the fact that snooker players are less restricted by things like age and physical strength.
Playing in the snooker "battlefield" for more than 10 years, Ding gained a great deal of respect by relying on his talent and hard work. The BBC even recently shot a documentary to look back on his brilliant career and his contributions to the game. Mentioning this, Ding humbly said, "snooker is my career that I am passionate about. I really hope I can do better, and bring more pleasure to people around me and enrich their life experiences, and help them stay entertained."
The next round of the competition will start on April 17th, and Ding's rival will be the 19-year-old Chinese player Zhou Yuelong. Last month, they met each other at the second round of the China Open, and Ding easily won with a 5-0 scoreline. But when mentioning the upcoming game, Ding was very cautious about making predictions.
He says Zhou Yuelong is a player who is very difficult to cope with, adding that it must not have been easy for him to make it from the qualifying game to the World Championship.
"It's his first time to participate in the World Championship, so I really hope he can play up to his best level. I cannot predict the result of the game, but I will try my best to play well."
In the past few years, Ding has experienced several ups and downs in his life and career. He says that all of the advancements and setbacks have helped to make him better and push him forward.
Looking back on his course of career, Ding said: "Up to now, I am so proud that I have won five championship titles between 2013 and 2014. But I still believe that I will make a lot of breakthroughs in the future."
