Hard work starts here for Chinese snooker star

Last week was a bittersweet one for Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui. 

Despite suffering a shock defeat to world No.100 James Cahill in the UK Championship - a tournament he has won twice - it became apparent that Ding would ascend to the top of the world rankings for the first time, something that became official this week. Ding becomes just the 11th world No.1 - and the first Asian - in snooker history, following in the footsteps of legends such as Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan remains indisputably the world's most talented player - and arguably the best of all time - but the world rankings are now based on a two-year rolling prize money list and Ding's consistency, which includes winning a record-equaling five tournaments last season, has seen him leapfrog both Neil Robertson and Mark Selby to claim the top spot.

For Ding, two goals remain: winning the World Championship and beating O'Sullivan in a ranking tournament. Both are within his capabilities, but his hardest task might be staying at the top of the world rankings. With a bull's-eye now on his back, he may well find that getting to No.1 is just the start of the road, not the end.

One thing in his favor, though, is that, for years, Ding has known the pressure of having millions following his every shot. In fact, that pressure from fans in China - which once led Ding, only half sarcastically, to wish that he was an alien - should mean he has a good chance to cement his place at the top, rather than buckle under his newfound fame, but the intricacies of the ranking system are set up in such a way that Robertson or Selby may well reclaim the top spot in the coming months.

In the wider context of Chinese sports stars, Ding's achievement is impressive. While China has had several top-seeded players in sports such as table tennis, diving and badminton, Ding is the first in the modern era to reach the topw in a "new" sport. For all her success, Li Na could never overhaul Serena Williams, and no one would claim Yao Ming was ever the best of his era, despite repeatedly being selected by fans to appear in the NBA All-Star Game.

But Ding has broken through a key psychological barrier in his sport, making it that much easier for the next wave of Chinese players to follow in his footsteps.