Snooker chiefs are plotting a move that would see the sport added to the Olympic Games, as recent World Championship win helps usher in a new wave of popularity. The Chinese potter waltzed his way to a first-ever world title, defeating three-time Crucible king in the final.

Zhao, who beat in the semi-final, took the victory by virtue of an 18-12 win over Williams, with a record worldwide TV audience of 150 million tuning in to watch the showpiece event. It registered a bigger audience than the Wimbledon final, with close to one in 10 of China's 1.42bn population estimated to have tuned in.

After becoming the first Asian to win the World Championship, Zhao's victory is expected to help grow the sport's standing on the continent, with snooker bosses already looking at ways to capitalise. One such way is by taking the sport to the Olympic Games, starting at the 2032 edition in Brisbane.

Jason Ferguson, head of the WPBSA, said in the aftermath of Zhao's historic win: "Realistically, Australia is a target. We're talking to all the multi-sport bodies. There's a lot of politics involved, but the size of snooker and how important China is to the IOC [International Olympic Committee], someone has to look at this and say this is now snooker's time."

It would mark another historic milestone for the sport, given snooker has never previously been on the Olympic roster. That's despite two unsuccessful applications, firstly for the 2020 Games in Tokyo and most recently for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Ferguson continued: "We need to see snooker in this country treated like a major Olympic sport; that's the difference. We have Sport England recognition, but we do need to get the sport treated the same as others. Maybe it's the introduction into events like the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, maybe even the Paralympics, that matters."

Zhao's emergence as a superstar in the making will certainly help the cause, with . On Zhao's potential success, Ferguson added: "He has the potential to become the richest-earning player in the history of the sport. That's quite a bold statement when you think about the titles players like Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan won.

"But the size of the market is huge and when you see the association of the brands who want to partner with snooker, it has endless potential. This is one of the biggest occasions snooker has seen. Snooker in China is treated like any national sport. To see a world champion returning to China a national hero is really going to send the sport to another level."