BEIJING STILL SWEATING OVER WINTER OLYMPICS BID

As the players arrived for the China Open Beijing as a sporting city was still on tenterhooks after the departure of the International Olympic Committee Evaluation team, who had just left following a five-day visit assessing the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

A decision will be announced on July 31 as to whether the three-centre bid from Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing that gets the nod or whether it will be Almaty in Kazakhstan who is celebrating.

Several of the media present at the Beijing Students’ Gymnasium for the snooker had attended press conferences held during the IOC team’s visit.

TRUMP'S TURN TO BE LEFT IN THE SHADE

It was a rare case of ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Show’ for Judd Trump on Wednesday night at the China Open after his 5-1 win over Peter Ebdon.

The 25-year-old Trump, also the title favourite and tour man in form, is usually mobbed in Beijing along with other Chinese cities, and the subject of the most intense media scrutiny and interest.

But three of the last-32 games finished at roughly the same time, and there was a prolonged circus while home hero Ding Junhui not only addressed a packed and frenzied media centre with standing room only, but was presented with a birthday cake having beaten Mark Davis 5-1 on the day he turned 28.

John Higgins, who hasn’t exactly been begging to speak to the written press of late anyway, was spared those duties after a 5-2 win over Graeme Dott, being interviewed only by a CCTV crew.

And Trump emerged into the room with the cake still being cleared away and virtually the entire room of journalists disappearing back to their desks to get filing Ding copy before deadlines.

With the few remaining hacks though, Trump did a professional job of assessing his victory over Ebdon and last-16 clash with Higgins before leaving the Chinese media to get back to lauding their hero.

MILKINS APOLOGISES TO SURETY

Rob Milkins admitted he had apologised for a bad attitude in the arena to Zak Surety during a 5-4 victory achieved from 4-1 down in the last 32 at the China Open in Beijing.

Milkins is not a total stranger to accusations of poor behaviour and frustrations getting the better of him during a match by opponents.

At least he was honest enough to admit it on this occasion, and make the apology to a devastated Surety. And Milkins’ unease was almost certainly as he later claimed exacerbated by the uncertainty over his World Championship participation – not that that is an excuse.

Milkins arrived in China as one of those likely to be facing three qualifiers – but still with a glimmer of hope of gatecrashing the party with an automatic spot.

He said: “My attitude in the match was terrible, my head was not very good and I did apologise to Zak at the interval because my attitude just wasn’t good.

“I managed to do something about it after the interval, even at 4-1 down it was better. But I have got that in me to have my head not right and be the worst player in the world, it was the same in Thailand for the Players Championship.

“I had to really calm myself down. I don’t know why, maybe it is just having that one eye on the World Championship even though this is a big tournament. Everyone wants to be at the Crucible and some of us are not guaranteed.”

'RUNNING MAN' FERGAL CLAIMS SOME VICTIMS

In more Irish news snooker’s ‘Running Man’ Fergal O’Brien claimed a couple of victims in Beijing.

The 43-year-old Dubliner, whose finest hour in the game came 16 years ago now when he won the British Open, is often seen pounding the streets around the hotel on overseas trips to keep fit and fill time between matches and practice.

And in Beijing, Matt Selt and Jimmy Robertson asked to join up with the world No26 for a run around the Sheraton hotel complex.

The pair kept up with O’Brien for a while with the pace at a leisurely jog, but when the time came for a sprint, Selt and Robertson were left gasping while O’Brien put his foot to the floor and sped off into the distance.

WHITE SPORTSMANSHIP LEAVES MARK ON MORRIS

You don’t have to go far in snooker without running into someone with a tale to tell about the exemplary sportsmanship so often shown by Jimmy White in his career.

And in Beijing Ireland’s David Morris admitted one such instance had made a huge impression on him at the China Open the previous year, and had remained a benchmark for his own future conduct.

Morris said: “I played Jimmy here last year, and I knew going in he was desperate for the money to stay on the tour. You knew that meant a lot for him, his status is something he is very proud of.

“He went 2-0 up and I managed to get the next with a good break, I think there was a difficult brown I got to help clinch the frame. And from his chair he just said to me straight away ‘Great break Davy’.

“With everything on it for him – and he went on to win anyway – he could still find time to do that, and he is always tapping the table in appreciation of other players’ shots.

“It is something I have remembered ever since, and the standard we should all try to match.”

CAMPBELL IN TIE TRIBUTE

Marcus Campbell went out to home hero and defending champion Ding Junhui in Beijing – but there was time enough for the Scot to pay a moving tribute to friend Billy Peterkin, tragically hit and killed by a car on his stag do last year.

Peterkin was known to many in the snooker fraternity north of the border, and Dumbarton’s Campbell was asked by another friend present in Marbella at the time to wear one of the Union Jack ties distributed on the trip at the China Open, with the first anniversary of his death fast approaching.

“It is coming up to the first anniversary of the death of a friend known to a few players, Billy Peterkin, who was tragically killed on his stag do last year,” said Campbell.

“I wasn’t actually on the stag do but he had handed out bow ties to everyone there, and at a recent charity event one of those present when it happened asked me to wear it as a mark of respect which I was very happy to do.”

MEDIA MAKE WAY FOR BASKETBALL SPONSOR

THE media moved ‘offices’ this year at the Beijing University Students Gymnasium, venue once again for the China Open. The former room, were post-match press conferences are also conducted, has recently been let out to sportswear and footwear brand Li-Ning, sponsors of the high-profile China Basketball Association league.

The assorted hacks and TV crews were shunted next-door into a slightly less salubrious and more cramped ante-room. But at least they could buy a cheap basketball top if they wanted one.

BIRDS NEST OLYMPIC STADIUM HOSTS OPENING BASH

The opening ceremony on the Sunday before play got under way at the China Open took place in the grand surroundings of the Birds Nest, the iconic stadium for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Players all climbed aboard a coach for the short trip from the hotel, and many grabbed the chance for some pictures of the arena and track where Usain Bolt shot to prominence with an astonishing three gold medals and three world records seven years ago in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay with Jamaica.

Shaun Murphy and Jason Ferguson did their bit with some trackside interviews with Rob Walker, bigging up snooker’s bid to try and join the Olympics party at some point in the future (Murphy's Bolt impression could yet go viral), and the red carpet procession saw the 64 players (less one or two absentees) led through a hall containing a galaxy of silver statues on the arm of a Beijing belle before the formal speeches.

And defending champion Ding Junhui, pictured with leading Chinese woman player Shi Chun Xia in the parade, created the fashion waves in a natty three-piece check green suit.

Walker, a well-known figure on the snooker circuit with his presenting and MC work, also has many media commitments in his other passion of athletics, and took the opportunity to drop in at the Beijing event n for a couple of days on his way home from Guiyang and the World Cross Country Championships.

Photograph courtesy of top147

ZHAO PILES ON THE PAIN FOR DAVIES

Chinese wild-card menace Zhao Xintong was at it again in Beijing, chalking up an eighth win in the four ranking events in China to date this season with a 5-0 whitewash of Alex Davies.

Zhao is still just 17, turning 18 this week on Friday, but he has won his wild-card match in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Wuxi this term – following up on the previous three occasions with further victories.

The teenager also revealed a ruthless streak in his post-match press conference, admitting that he had heard Davies was suffering with an upset stomach and planned to make him feel even more uncomfortable from the first frame.

With this latest victory Zhao set up a first-round proper encounter with the in-form Mark Williams – who is no fan of the wild-card system and would happily see them all scrapped.