Haeng Jik Kim lives up his reputation

GUATEMALA - The Koreans Haeng Jik Kim and Gun Whi Cho and the Spaniard David Zapata have lived up their reputation on the first day of the Junior World championships in Guatemala. The most impressive was the start of Haeng Jik Kim. The two fold world champion defeated his compatriot Jun Tae Kim 2-1 and overwhelmed in his second match the Spaniard David Martinez 15-2 and 15-3.

The seventh Junior World championship, played in the Tikal Futura hotel in the capital, was opened by Fernando Requena, representative of the UMB. The tournament has launched with sixteen players dueling for eight places in the quarterfinals. The feeld consists of seven Europeans, four South Americans and five Asians.

Haeng Jik Kim, David Zapata, Alejandro Piza (Colombia) and Gun Whi Cho are the leaders in the four groups after one day. The most remarkable match was played between Haeng Jik Kim and David Martinez. The Spaniard belongs already for a few years to the best players in this tournament, but stumbled in this match over his opponent: 15-2 (6), 15-3 (10) (1.875/0.333).