LONDON: Chinese pair Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were given lifetime bans from snooker on Tuesday for match-fixing after a “heart-breaking” corruption scandal rocked the sport. In total, 10 Chinese players were handed bans of varying lengths by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) on Tuesday. Lu Ning, Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, Chen Zifan, Zhang Jiankang, Bai Langning, Zhao Jianbo and Chang Bingyu were the other players suspended. Yan, the 2021 Masters champion, has been banned for five years until December 2027 after his initial seven and a half-year suspension was reduced following his early admissions and guilty plea. Former UK Championship winner Zhao Xintong will serve a 20-month suspension, reduced from two-and-a-half years after his early admissions and guilty plea, that ends in September 2024. The charges included manipulating games, approaching players to cheat, betting on snooker and fixing a match. World number 72 Liang, who won the 2016 English Open, and world number 71 Li must also pay £43,000 ($53,000) in costs. Li has been found to be in breach of the regulations as he fixed or was a party to fix five snooker matches between July 24 and September 29, 2022.