China's 22-year-old Chang Bingyu is starting his second spell on tour, having won the Asia-Pacific Championship to regain his card, and is hoping he can now live up to his potential.
Bingyu, firstly talk us through your match against Daniel Wells in the recent Wuhan Open qualifiers when you were 4-1 down and came back to win 5-4.
I was nervous at the start, having not played in professional events for a while. My opponent started really strongly and I hardly got a chance. During the mid-session interval, I just felt that if he kept playing like that, I’d probably lose. Luckily, he didn’t maintain his level, and I started to find my rhythm and caught up. I just focused on one frame at a time and ended up winning. When I was on the tour before it was mainly during Covid and there weren’t as many tournaments in China so I spent a long time in the UK. Now that we’ve got events in cities like Wuhan, Nanjing and Xi’an, I’m really looking forward to playing there if I can qualify.
Let’s go back to the moment you decided to enter the Asia-Pacific Championship in Australia. That was a big journey with just one tour card to play for. What motivated you?
It was back in January or February, and if I hadn’t gone, the only other chance would have been Q School in Thailand. Honestly, I didn’t expect to win the whole thing. I just wanted match practice and to get a feel for competitive play again. My main focus was doing well in Thailand so Australia was more of a try-it-and-see. It was quite unexpected. I played freely because there was no pressure. I felt my form getting better from the group stage onwards. By the time I reached the semi-finals, I had confidence in my game and kept playing well through to the final.
Building up to that you were working with coach Li Jianbing, how important was your time with him?
Very important. I was based at Coach Li’s academy and the schedule was very structured, I would practise from 9am to around 8:30pm every day. Everything was very disciplined, and he really helped me get into good form. I’m now based at Ding Junhui's academy in Sheffield and I still have long, focused practice sessions daily, around six to seven hours.
During your first spell on tour you had some good wins but your ranking event results didn’t quite match your potential. What are your targets now?
Over the past two years, I have gained perspective. Now I approach matches with a much calmer mindset. My goal is to catch up with players like Wu Yize and Si Jiahui. We grew up playing each other together, and they’ve both made great strides so I’d like to follow their lead. We’ve been close since we were kids. Seeing them succeed definitely motivates me to push harder.
You’ve always had a smooth, attacking style. Do you intend to stick to your natural game?
Yes, I’m primarily an attacking player, though I have realised I need to be more selective because in the past I sometimes went for risky shots unnecessarily. Now I want to play more sensibly while staying true to my style. I review my own matches and watch a lot of professional snooker so I have learned the importance of sticking to your own style, no matter who you're playing. It’s crucial to replicate your practice rhythm in matches. I used to slow down during tournaments, which hurt my game. Now I try to keep my usual pace regardless of the result. I used to get nervous in tight frames and worry about winning or losing but now I just want to focus on playing well, I think that mindset helps a lot.
