Ronnie O'Sullivan indicated he is not ready to retire from snooker, vowing to continue competing for at least the next 18 months following his 6-3 defeat to Chang Bingyu in the Wuhan Open semifinals. O'Sullivan, who has not won a ranking event in over two years, expressed a desire to avoid ending his career on recent performances.
"I don't want to throw the towel in just yet," O'Sullivan stated. "I've committed to playing until then. I want to give myself a chance. I'd hate to finish my career on performances like that."
The match saw O'Sullivan trail 2-0 early on but fought back to level the score at 2-2 heading into the mid-session interval. However, Chang, the 24-year-old Chinese player, regained control after the break, winning two consecutive frames to lead 4-2. Although O'Sullivan managed to pull one frame back, Chang secured his victory with breaks of 69 and 48 in the subsequent frames, marking his first win against O'Sullivan.
"Every time I play against Ronnie, it's a pleasure," Chang said after the match. "He probably wasn't in the best form today, and I managed to take some of the opportunities that came my way."
Chang is set to face either Xiao Guodong or Zhao Xintong in the final of the Wuhan Open.