A mile down the road, the Chinese State Circus entertained an enthralled audience, but in the temporarily converted badminton arena at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield last night, Ding Junhui walked his own tight-rope.
Even the most sure-footed player can stumble with so much at stake, but Ding displayed a steely nerve to beat Mark Davis 10-6 in the final qualifying round of the 888.com World Championship and book an eagerly awaited debut at the Crucible next month. He will be the first Chinese competitor at the sport’s most famous venue.
Most thought that the 19-year-old, who has won three world ranking tournaments, including the 2005 United Kingdom Championship, would overwhelm Davis, a journeyman from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, but a dogfight developed.
Having cut a swath through the amateur game and made smooth progress as a professional, Ding is unaccustomed to failure. As a result, his 10-3 defeat by Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Saga Insurance Masters final at Wembley in January shook him to the core. Early exits and weak performances followed at Ding’s next two events — the Malta Cup and Welsh Open — leading Davis to the assumption that his opponent was vulnerable.
Davis compiled breaks of 129, 73, 79 and 117 in building a 5-4 first session lead, but Ding was not prepared to allow his realistic title aspirations to be crushed in the qualifying competition.
From 6-6, Ding stole the next two frames on the black and then crossed the line in style with runs of 114 and 126. “I still feel nervous. That was so important for me,” Ding said.
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