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Former world champion Shaun Murphy says snooker is better because Zhao Xintong is in it after the Chinese player returned to the top competition after a 20-month ban.

Zhao, 27, was one of 10 players banned due to a corruption scandal, but has returned after a one-year and eight-month suspension and qualified as an amateur for the British Championship, the competition he won in 2021.

He did not directly pitch a game, but was initially suspended for two and a half years, reduced after his early confessions and guilty plea. He accepted the accusation that he was siding with another player who fixed two matches and gambled on matches himself.

“Xintong was always a slightly different case to the others,” said Murphy, who defeated Zhao 6-5 in the opening round of the UK Championship at the York Barbican on Saturday.

“He was not a cheat, he broke the rules, but he admitted it and served his sentence. He should be given the opportunity to move on and return to the sport if he qualifies. The game is better when there is Xintong is in.”