Massive TV audience forecast for Asian challenge

Hong Kong's Marco Fu expects huge live TV audiences of over 100 million in China and the Far East as no fewer than four Asians do battle in the World Championship starting later this month.

Fu faces China's Ding Junhui in the 32-player opening round and the pair will be joined at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield by Chinese qualifiers Liu Chuang and Liang Wenbo.

Although both qualifiers take on tough initial opposition in the shape of ex-world champions Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ken Doherty, bookmakers quote only 7-1 against one of the Asian quartet lifting the title.

Live snooker has attracted massive viewing figures in China especially when Fu faced Ding in the quarter-finals of the Masters at Wembley Arena in January. Fu forecasts an even higher audience when the two men meet in Sheffield.

"I think it's very good for the game to have four Asians in the tournament," Fu said.

"Snooker has always been a British sport, but it's growing in popularity in Asia. A lot of youngsters look up to myself, Ding and the other Chinese players.

"Seeing us on TV makes them want to pick up a cue and take up the game, so I think we'll see a lot more world-class players emerge from Asia over the next eight to 10 years."

Fu, who beat Ding 6-3 at the Masters before suffering a semi-final defeat at the hands of England's Stephen Lee, says he and his rival have been the subject of intense media scrutiny.

"There's a lot of interest in the match in our country so there's been a lot of coverage since the draw was made," said the 30-year-old.

"We've done a lot of interviews, talking about the match. There's going to be a lot of pressure on us."

Fu suffered a heavy 10-3 first round defeat against Anthony Hamilton in last year's tournament after being struck down by a mystery illness.

"I felt awful," he explained. "I couldn't really feel my hands. I was sweating a lot and I was struggling to open my eyes at times."

That defeat was a major disappointment for Fu after reaching the semi-finals in 2006.

With a high-profile match to contend with in the first round, he refuses to be drawn on whether he fancies his chances of going all the way this year and lifting the trophy.

"I'm just really concentrating on the opening round at the moment," he said.

Fu won the first ranking title of his career when he beat O'Sullivan in the final of the Grand Prix in Aberdeen last October and he is pleased with his form going into the World Championship.

He said: "It was great to win my first ranking tournament and I'm finding my game is a lot more consistent than it was two years ago."

In London, Ding is rated a 12-1 chance to win the crown with Fu at 28-1 and the qualifiers Liu and Liang at 150-1 or above.

The tournament begins on Saturday with England's O'Sullivan the 3-1 favourite. Scotland's John Higgins is a 10-1 shot to retain the title he won in 2007.