Zhang Anda laments paltry Hong Kong crowd as he reaches World Grand Prix final
‘I’d prefer it if there could be more spectators,’ says world No 23, who will face world champion Zhao Xintong in Sunday’s final
Zhang Anda said he would have preferred playing “in front of more crowds” after edging past fellow Chinese Zhou Yuelong in a nail-biting 6-5 win on Saturday to seal a spot in the World Grand Prix final.
Zhang will face compatriot Zhao Xintong at Kai Tak Arena on Sunday after the latter beat Xiao Guodong 6-3 in the second semi-final in the evening.
The early afternoon session, in front of roughly 300 spectators – out of a maximum 3,500 under the one-table set-up – saw plenty of brilliant moments and decent breaks by Zhang and Zhou, as well as missed shots and mispositioned cue balls that drew sighs from the largely unoccupied seats.
“It’s Saturday in Hong Kong, I’d prefer it if there could be more spectators,” said Zhang, who is ranked No 23 in the world. “I always like to play in front of more crowds, I like them cheering for me because their support always spurs us on.
“Snooker may seem like a quiet sport but there is quite some passion in it. But I wasn’t really thinking about the number of spectators but just focusing on my game.”
Zhou drew first blood with a break of 66 but Zhang responded with breaks of 95 and 68 to take the lead. A break of 98 saw Zhou level at the break before the Sichuan native added one more to reclaim a 3-2 lead.