Asian Games: snooker returns for Qatar 2030 as hopes are raised for continued support from Hong Kong Sports Institute
- More good news for Hong Kong after women’s player Ng On-yee and men’s former No 5 Marco Fu were given cards to play on the world pro tour
- Snooker was dropped from the Asian Games roster after Guangzhou in 2020, when Hong Kong came away with two gold medals and a bronze
Hong Kong snooker players and officials celebrated more good news with Qatar’s revelation that the sport will be included in the 2030 Asian Games to be hosted by the Gulf country.
The Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports said on its website that the sport will return to the Games fold for the first time since 2010.
“The good news just keeps coming this week for Hong Kong and Asia,” Wayne Griffiths, head snooker coach at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, wrote on social media. “First, On-yee getting a two-year tour card. Then Marco offered a wild card from the WPBSA – and now Qatar announcing that Billiard Sports will be in the 2030 Asian Games after a 20-year absence.”
The move will be a boost for snooker’s status as a top-tier sport at the Institute, which gives preferences to sports that are featured in the Olympics and Asian Games. Snooker is one of a handful of sports in which Hong Kong can boast world-class players.
Hong Kong professional Marco Fu Ka-chun is a three-time Asian Games gold medallist who beat China star Ding Junhui in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games singles final.