STUART BINGHAM says it was a typically enjoyable trip to China even though he never really felt his game clicked before a last 16 defeat to Kyren Wilson.
The world No 3 is a firm fans’ favourite in East Asia and was happy to again sample the culture as he took part in this year’s China Open.
Ballrun, who beat Scotland’s Scott Donaldson (5-3) and Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham (5-2) before a 5-2 defeat to fellow Englishman Wilson in Beijing, admitted: “To be honest I did not feel I played that well in the first two matches even though I had little spurts of form in frames here and there.
“And I got found out really against Kyren. From 2-2 to 4-2 down I missed one chance where I was in the balls and should not have missed. And he punished me fully for it.”
Bingham and his manager Gary Purkiss also took part in a promotional video for Beijing as part of a sponsorship deal with Superstar Online, a project which allows Chinese fans to get coaching and have a Q&A with Ballrun on a live online video feed.
The Essex duo are filmed eating local delicacies and being taken out on a pedal boat and Bingham rides one of the city’s famous bicycles (you can watch the video below).
Bingham said: “Making the video was fun and the thing you can see me eating on the stick is like a sweet and sour toffee apple, which was quite unusual.
“We also tried stinky tofu, which was a kind of spicy bread. And it was funny to see Gary trying it because he usually makes us stick to steaks or McDonald’s and won’t try anything new when we go overseas!
“The boat ride was interesting too because the pedal broke and they had to come and tow us in and then I had to get back on another one!”
Bingham will now prepare for the start of the World Championships at the Crucible this month and there will be a special preview on http://stuartbingham.uk.com in the coming weeks.
