Isle of Man snooker player Darryl Hill is set to break new ground when he becomes the first sportsperson from the island to compete in the World Games in Chengdu, China between August 10-14.

The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. Held every four years, approximately 3,500 participants from around 100 countries take part.

In this year’s Games there will be 34 sports, including drone racing and parkour, to make up an extremely varied set of events.

Hill will be taking part in the slightly less hectic snooker competition within a very strong 12-man field which includes China’s world number 13, Xiao Guodong.

The IoM player recently received an invite to compete under the Great Britain flag and it will surely be an amazing experience for the recently crowned eight-time island champion.

Other cue sports in the games include 10-ball pool, Heyball (Chinese eight-ball) and Carom. For more details of the sports and those competing, visit the event’s website at www.theworldgames.org

It’s going to be a busy summer for Hill as he’s also off to Mauritius in early July together with Dollin Mercer to take part in the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, Commonwealth Six Red tournament.

The pair competed with great credit in a six red team competition in Portugal last year, but this new event is individual.

The Isle of Man were offered two places, Hill and Mercer being the first two from the current ranking list to accept invitations.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s the annual trip to the somewhat less exotic venue of Leeds between August 1-4 for the Home Internationals where the Isle of Man intend to send men’s and masters teams.

MIKE CROOK