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9-ball stars confident of billiard Olympic inclusion despite 2020 failure

Xinhua, November 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Women 9-ball stars are still confident of their sport getting into the Olympic Games although billiard failed in bidding for Tokyo in 2020.

Kelly Fisher, the multiple world champion in women snooker who plays pool now, believes that billiard deserves to be in the Olympics.

"It requires such accuracy, such concentration, and quality of professional play. I'm not sure why it's already not (in the Olympics)," Fisher told Xinhua at the Women's 9-ball World Championship here on Saturday.

"When I look at some of the other sports, I think billiard should definitely be right there, many years ago," she said, adding "some sports already in the Olympics are not as popular as billiard."

World Confederation of Billiards Sport, billiard's global governing body, submitted a first-ever bid for joining the 2020 Olympics in January, but the sport, competing with the other 27, was not in the shortlist of eight announced by Tokyo Organizing Committee in June.

Fisher, however, hopes that billiard can enter the next 2024 Games.

"It'll be great for the sport and the sport deserves," the 37-year-old said, "it will happen, sooner or later, before I get too old."

Chinese billiard sensation Pan Xiaoting also thinks that it is a matter of time for the cue sport to be included in the Olympics.

"It will be an Olympic sport eventually. To me, it's just about whether I am still able to play in the Olympics," the 33-year-old said.

"The only problem, I think, might be that some games are too long, like snooker, 4-5 hours or even longer for a match. But we play 9-ball fast," she added.

Baseball and softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing and surfing are in the final list submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC will vote on which events will be added to the 28 core sports at its Session in August ahead of next summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Endi