After an early World Open exit, Ronnie O’Sullivan says he would endeavor to get in better shape during the snooker off-season.

The Rocket missed the chance to add to his five event victories this term as he lost to Hossein Vafaei on Thursday in the last-16 in China.

With victories in the first two Triple Crown tournaments at the UK Championship and the Masters, O’Sullivan has had a remarkable season at the table.

When he competes in the World Championship next month, he intends to win all three in a single campaign for the first time in his career.

However, he lost against Vafaei 5–4, which caused a minor setback in his preparation for the Crucible.

Vafaei deserved to win, according to O’Sullivan, who informed the local media that the final score was closer than it should have been.

“Vafaei clearly played better today and deserved this victory,” the speaker stated. I didn’t perform as well as my opponent did today.

“The game was not as close as the score indicated, and my long stand failed to exert pressure on my opponent.

I’ll visit the World Billiards Museum for a few activities after the game, work out at the gym, and then remain for one or two more days.”

O’Sullivan said he is not worn out and he won’t make any justifications for why he lost.

He asserts, nonetheless, that he must continue to improve on his condition and will do so following the World Championship.

“I’m not tired, and I can’t use this as an excuse to lose,” he continued. yet, I can only award myself three to four points for performance; yet, I may offer myself full scores for spirit.

“Even though I think I’ve been playing the game really hard, I didn’t perform to my greatest ability since it’s still quite tough.

“I’ll take some steps in the off-season to assist strengthen my body, such as playing in exhibition games to sharpen my competitive edge and my ability to perform well under duress.

“I may come to China, or some other places to play some exhibition games later.”

After winning the inaugural Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker earlier this month, O’Sullivan said that he enjoys competing in China.

“This is one of the biggest and most significant tournaments in the world,” he declared. I observed a pretty lovely stadium and a lot of ardent supporters.

“The event was excellent and expertly planned. The two greatest events in the world are this one and the Saudi one.”

Vafaei acknowledged that O’Sullivan, 48, is his idol and expressed his happiness at defeating him.

“I’m very happy to get the victory,” the Iranian stated. My hero is him. It’s a dream come true to play against Ronnie O’Sullivan alone, but what about victory?”

Even though neither of us played particularly well, the game was excellent, particularly when Ronnie made his century while the score was 4-3.

“I felt that after his hard-earned century, he had some momentum and would be difficult to stop.

“At the end, I’m so happy, delighted with this win.”