Newly crowned world snooker champion Zhao Xintong was swamped by fans as he returned home to China on Thursday. Three days after his dominant final over Mark Williams in Sheffield, the 28-year-old landed at Shenzhen Bao’an Airport to be greeted by huge cheers and celebratory signs.

Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.

With “The Cyclone’s” victory demonstrating China's growing power in the sport, chair of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) Jason Ferguson insists that snooker’s inclusion in the Olympic programme is now realistic.