I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that sports players who get knighted are usually those who've
represented their country in their chosen sports or, at least, where them having won a world championship has led to a feeling of national pride.
See here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sporting_knights_and_dames
Most of the people listed in that link (or in the pages which are linked to from there) have represented the UK, Great Britain or one of the UK's constituent nations. Those that haven't (such as Sterling Moss) have probably given the nation a 'proud to be British' feeling through their achievements.
However snooker doesn't have national teams and for much of its history has been dominated by British players (so people weren't surprised or particularly proud when a Brit won the world title).
Much the same could be said of sports such as bowls, where stars such as David Bryant are admitted to the Order of the British Empire (with Bryant initially becoming an MBE and later a CBE) but not knighted. (It does seem odd though that Steve Davies was only awarded the OBE, given his achievements).