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Danish dynamite and Austria on fire in Viersen

24/02/2018

Publié par frits bakker

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© Kozoom International
Tonny Carlsen and Thomas Andersen after their victory over the Dutch team

VIERSEN - Two guys from the same city in Denmark will play the semifinal tomorrow, in the World championship for National teams in Viersen. Tonny Carlsen (will turn 52 tomorrow) and Thomas Andersen (45) beat the Netherlands and will face South Korea for a place in the final. The famed 'Danish dynamite' was their weapon in the confrontation with the Dutchmen. The first Danish attack was neutralized, but as the Dutch neared the finish line, Tonny Carlsen scored match point to win 40-37. The other sensation of the day was brought by the Austrian team, that managed to get past the Belgians: 40-36 in 27 innings. The two other finalists are South Korea and Turkey. The draw: 10.00: South Korea - Denmark, 12.00: Turkey - Austria.

Three of the favorites had to leave the tournament on Saturday: the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The host country could not keep up with the Turks: 40-31 in 26, the Belgians were upset by two Austrians with lion hearts, the Dutch surprisingly lost to the Danes. Dick Jaspers was not looking for excuses: ,,I was a little unlucky with my last point, a nice bank shot, but we've missed too many points earlier in the match. What we brought to the table was just not good enough.''

The Germans were also without a good explanation for their lukewarm performance against the Turkish team. Even the enthusiasm from the crowd could not ignite their fire. Martin Horn and Ronny Lindemann fell victim to the determination of Tayfun Tasdemir and Semih Sayginer.

For the Belgians, this defeat was hurtful. In the second half of the match, Andreas Efler and Arnim Kahofer were "in the zone", as they cruised to the finish line. Caudron and Philipoom were given two good chances to turn the tide, but it was not to be and Efler could do his stylish pirouette in the arena, after Kahofer had made the winning point. Austria was in the final of this event once: Efler and Kostistansky lost to Germany in 1997.

The Danish twosome made the difference against the Netherlands with runs of 7, 4 and 5 (26-13), when their opponents had 6 open innings in a row. When Denmark started to miss a few, the Netherlands came back with a run of 8 to make it 39-37. After 4 missed match points by the Danes, Carlsen finally crossed the line when he made a tense and tricky short angle shot: 40-37 in 32.

History repeats itself in Viersen, where the Danes are concerned. They have a remarkable record at this event. Tonny Carlsen: ,,We do well once every five years, and we make it on to the podium.'' Carlsen did it with Brian Knudsen in 2007 and with Thomas Andersen in 2012, his current playing partner. The Danes won the WC twice: Dion Nelin and Jakob Haack Sörensen did it in 1995, and a year later it was Nelin / Laursen who won.

On Saturday evening, the Turkish machine went into gear against the Germans, with a run of 10 (22-14 in 12). It was a lead Tasdemir and Sayginer would not give back. No matter how loud the home crowd cheered, the German players simply missed top form. The elimination of these favorites is a setback for the organizers, because it's the Germans, the Belgians and the Dutch who usually create the most atmosphere on the final day of "Viersen".

Sung-Won Choi and Dong Koong Kang grabbed the fourth and final ticket for the semifinals. The Koreans allowed the French to make the start of a comeback (23-21), but they were superior in the remainder of the match: 40-27 in 25 innings. Is the title defender on its way to another glorious day? The final day is live on television in South Korea: 2.5 million Koreans will watch the finals.

The Austrians celebrate their win: Andy Efler and Arnim Kahofer

Semih Sayginer at the table for Turkey, the Germans in the background

Two happy Austrians after the victory over the Belgians

The Dutch Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn, out after two losses on Saturday

The Korean title holder to the best four after win over France

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