Snooker star who was banned along with world champion Zhao Xintong makes huge statement after return to sport
SNOOKER star Chang Bingyu has made a statement return to the baize after seeing out his suspension alongside World Snooker champion Zhao Xingtong.
Both Zhao and Chang were given lengthy bans for their roles in a match-fixing scandal that rocked the world of snooker.
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Zhao was handed a 20-month ban for his part in the scandal, which saw 10 Chinese players punished for their involvement.
But the 28-year-old, who was found to have not had any direct role in fixing the outcome of a match, bounced back from his ban in the most dramatic way possible by winning the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible earlier this year.
Now his compatriot, Chang, has racked up a statement win on his return to action after he was given a two-year suspension for his role in the scandal.
Chang, 22, admitted to deliberately losing to Jamie Jones at the 2022 British Open, claiming he "reluctantly" agreed to fix the match after a call from Liang Wenbo detailing an alleged large bet on Jones to win.
Chang was originally slapped with a three-year ban, but saw that suspension reduced to two years after he admitted to his wrongdoing.
Now the highly-thought of prospect potter has returned to action with a statement win, beating top player Daniel Wells 5-4 in a Wuhan Open qualifier.
Chang fought back from 4-1 down to beat Wells thanks to breaks of 84, 60 and 70 in Leicester.
The youngster will now face India's Kreishh Gurbaxani on Thursday in his battle to qualify for the competition that takes place in August.
It's not the first statement made by Chang since the end of his ban either.
The former world number 62 returned to action in December at the Asia-Pacific Snooker Championship, winning the tournament without showing any signs of his time away from the table.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 - with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
1969 - John Spencer
1970 - Ray Reardon
1971 - John Spencer
1972 - Alex Higgins
1973 - Ray Reardon (2)
1974 - Ray Reardon (3)
1975 - Ray Reardon (4)
1976 - Ray Reardon (5)
1977 - John Spencer (2)
1978 - Ray Reardon (6)
1979 - Terry Griffiths
1980 - Cliff Thorburn
1981 - Steve Davis
1982 - Alex Higgins (2)
1983 - Steve Davis (2)
1984 - Steve Davis (3)
1985 - Dennis Taylor
1986 - Joe Johnson
1987 - Steve Davis (4)
1988 - Steve Davis (5)
1989 - Steve Davis (6)
1990 - Stephen Hendry
1991 - John Parrott
1992 - Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 - Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 - Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 - Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 - Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 - Ken Doherty
1998 - John Higgins
1999 - Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 - Mark Williams
2001 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
2002 - Peter Ebdon
2003 - Mark Williams (2)
2004 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (2)
2005 - Shaun Murphy
2006 - Graeme Dott
2007 - John Higgins (2)
2008 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (3)
2009 - John Higgins (3)
2010 - Neil Robertson
2011 - John Higgins (4)
2012 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)
2013 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (5)
2014 - Mark Selby
2015 - Stuart Bingham
2016 - Mark Selby (2)
2017 - Mark Selby (3)
2018 - Mark Williams (3)
2019 - Judd Trump
2020 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (6)
2021 - Mark Selby (4)
2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (7)
2023 - Luca Brecel
2024 - Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
7 - Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan
6 - Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
4 - John Higgins, Mark Selby
3 - John Spencer, Mark Williams
2 - Alex Higgins
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