What a drag!
By Peter Goff (City Weekend)
Updated: 2005-04-21 10:44

The players called it madness, insanity, a circus. A clash of cultures as the sedate and somber world of snooker jarred with the raucous chaos that is modern China.

China's prodigy Ding Junhui prepares to to hit the ball during the 2005 World Snooker China Open in Beijing April 1, 2005. Ding survives Stephen Hendry from Scotland 9-5 to win the game. [sina]

But with the world's most populous nation hailing their new snooker teen hero Ding Junhui it seems the strange bedfellows are nestling in for a long-term relationship.

Already more than 50 million Chinese play snooker on a regular basis, but with the 18-year-old Ding quickly assuming cult status after winning the China Open on April 3, that figure is expected to double or triple in the coming years.

That fame translates to frenzies as voracious autograph hunters work in packs. When the players arrived for the China Open, they were swamped by adoring fans that threatened life and limb.

Just ask Steve Davis. The 47-year-old former world number smacked his head off a doorframe as he tried to sidestep a descending horde of zealous admirers just before his game with Ricky Walden.

Ding Junhui, China, shakes hands with Stephen Hendry, Scotland, during the final of the 2005 World Snooker China Open in Beijing, April 3. 17-year-old Ding beat Hendry 9-5 to win the game. [sina]

He suffered a mild concussion and had to withdraw from the tournament.

The standard snooker sounds - the gentle clicking of balls, the rustle as it slides down the pocket, the referee's dulcet tones - were all but lost on many occasions in the noisy, carnival atmosphere at the China Open.

Mobile phones provided a shrill backdrop, constantly shattering the silence and the players' concentration.

Oblivious to the pleading and haranguing of the referees, phones were left on and were answered with an audacity that both bemused and amused the players.

Flash photography further distracted the players and one security guard even snored heavily through a frame during the semi-finals.

Almost every match was stopped on a number of occasions because of crowd disruptions. The referees had to physically throw several people out of the stadium during the course of the week.

Stephen Hendry called the atmosphere "madness," while Chris Small said it was "a joke, it felt like a circus out there." Small's match with Adrian Gunnell had to be held up more than 10 times.

Beijing's mayor, Wang Qishan, attended some games and was also livid at the behavior of the fans.

He later slammed the "rude public behavior," saying the city drastically needed to brush up on its manners before welcoming the world to the Olympics in 2008.

With the Games only three years away he said it was "a problem Beijing cannot afford to ignore."

The organizers and most of the players feel that the problem boils down to the fact the game is relatively new in China and it will take time before fans become familiar with proper snooker etiquette.

"We just need to be patient and understand how things are here and realize that it will improve with time," Hendry said. "But the fact that snooker is taking off here and they are producing players of Ding's talent is wonderful for the game."

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