Snooker ‘could be added to Olympics’ because of Wu Yize as decision timeline emerges | Other | Sport
Wu Yize edged a 35-frame thriller in a dramatic World Championship final, following in the footsteps of Zhao Xintong, who triumphed last year. He was the first Asian champion, with the sport’s popularity having boomed in the 12 months since.
It’s estimated that around 300,000 snooker clubs exist in China, with 11 of the 32 players in the main draw of the 2026 Championship having come from the Asian nation. Snooker has long been mooted as a potential Olympic sport, having failed with bids for the Games in 2021 and 2024.
However, Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, believes there are now more eyes on the sport. Speaking to The Associated Press, he said: “It’s vitally important.
“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.”
It isn’t just China that’s seen a snooker boom. The sport has grown in other markets, including parts of Europe, with Antoni Kowalski becoming the first Polish player to qualify for the World Championship. Ferguson continued: “When we started this idea of going to the Olympics, we only had a handful of countries playing. But we are ready (to be in the Olympics). And that’s an exciting proposition.”
Despite the 2032 Games being eight years away, the deadline for making a decision is just around the corner. The International Olympic Committee is expected to finalise its programme of sports to be added to the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics by next spring, which would coincide with the time of the next World Snooker Championship.
A successful bid would require support from key decision makers in Australia, meaning snooker chiefs could call upon Neil Robertson, with the Aussie ace currently ranked second in the world. Robertson won the world title in 2010 and is the current world No.2, and could be pivotal for snooker’s campaign to be included in the Olympics.
