China snooker ace Ding gets cartoon treatment

Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui, the most successful Asian in the sport's history ,now has a cartoon alter ego. "Dragon Snooker", an animated series about a nine-year-old boy named Xiao Hui Ding's given name who quickly rises to international stardom in the sport, is airing this month on Chinese television, the China Daily says. Ding's agent Zhang Meng told the newspaper that the star would appear at the end of each of 52 episodes to teach children how to play snooker. "Ding likes cartoons very much and he hopes this cartoon series will help more children with dreams fall in love with the gentlemanly sport of snooker," said Zhang. Ding became the most successful Asian player in professional snooker history in late 2009 by taking his fourth ranking event title -- surpassing the three titles won by Thailand's James Wattana. The 24-year-old, a native of the eastern province of Jiangsu, is currently ranked fourth in the world and striving to become China's first world snooker champion. He was narrowly beaten in the semi-finals this year. The animated series began airing on a Shanghai television network this month, according to local listings. It will be rebroadcast on state China Central Television's children's channel in July, the China Daily says.