3-Cushion
VALENCIA - The attack on Therese Klompenhouwer's golden crown came from the far east, but at the end of the ladies World championshipl, the leading lady of three cushion climbed proudly on the highest podium again. The magnificent sportslady (36), Dutch glory on billiards and Europe's hope in these days, defeated her all time rival Orie Hida in the final and now, like the 44-year-old Japanese, has four world titles on her record list. That wonderful success, in the billiard arena of the Ateneo de Valencia, she achieved after her victories against one Korean, one Cambodian and one Japanese opponent in the final stretch. Therese Klompenhouwer did it with the flair of the real champion. The world coloured gold again for Terri and orange for the fans who supported her so well.
The world titles are not only the irrefutable proof of more than ten years of hegemony in women's billiards. The Dutch national anthem was played for the billiard queen of orange, who achieved also seven European titles without interruption and was eleven times champion of her country. The question after the new global title is how long the supremacy will last: this World championship has not shown that a new generation is coming to threaten Therese Klompenhouwer in the coming years. Two Asians, Orie Hida and Mi A Kim, came closest in the score with 30-21 and 30-22. The other opponents on their way to the final day didn't even score half of Therese's caroms.
Sruong Pheavy collapsed in the semi-final against Klompenhouwer under the pressure and was far behind with 30-14 in 29. Orie Hida defeated her compatriot Ayako Sakai in the other semifinal 30-21 in 25 innings. The final was, after the start when Hida led 6-0, but Klompenhouwer immediately hit back with 11-6, a demonstration of girl power from the Dutch, who led 15-10 at the break and eventually ran out to 30-21 in 27 , without real highlights with high runs.
The story of the champion about that final match: "I actually played this final like in the whole tournament: not very well, but solid, smart, striking at the right moments and showing flair. I felt mentally stronger than my opponents and I was not in danger in any of the matches. My strength against Orie Hida was that, if she missed, I often answered with 2 or 3. That made the difference. I was more solid in the positions in every game than the others. In all my matches, I have played over 1 average, of all the others, only Orie Hida did that two times. That says a lot about the level of competition. I have not played one bad match and that is pretty good with such short games to 30 points. With such a length, you cannot think only to attack. You also have to make tactical decisions and I did quite well. And when it was needed, I also managed to break through the defense."
The analysis of the World championship, also based on the champion's opinion, was clear and well considered: European ladies billiards have been hoping in vain for years for new stars. Gülsen Degener is still doing well in the rounds up to the finals, Steffi Daske, Estela Cardoso and Jaimie Buelens were silver lining. The South Americans send colourful and ambitious ladies to the World podium every year, but no opponents who can frighten Therese Klompenhouwer. What remains are the far Asian countries: a few young Korean girls, Japanese billiard celebrity Orie Hida, this year newcomer, Ayako Sakai, out of nowhere. And Sruong Pheavy from Cambodia. The Korean talent Bo-Mi Kim has switched to the PBA organization and it is a pitty that another 18-year-old Korean Jieun Han, who beat Klompenhouwer in the New York final, was not allowed to go to the World championship due to a low position on the rankings.
"We certainly have to be careful in Europe that we don't fall further down," recognized Therese Klompenhouwer. ''I will try to continue getting more titles myself for as long as possible. How long I can keep that up, I really don't know. The most important competition comes from Asia. I do see some young Koreans break through and eventually become world champions. For now, I think: one Korean, Mi A Kim and Sruong Pheavy from Cambodia. To be honest, I hope my title now is another incentive, especially in the Netherlands. It means that we can send one participant extra. But anyway: I've been saying it for a few years, we're not really getting any closer to the top in Europe. That's concerning, we really have to take care. The Asian girls have more possibilities than we have here in Europe, but I still have hope."
The two final players, Therese Klompenhouwer, right and Orie Hida
The World's podium with left to right Orie Hida, Therese Klompenhouwer, Ayako Sakai and Sruong Pheavy
The final ranking for this World championship (best 16):
1 Therese Klompenhouwer (Netherlands) 12-1.125-9
2 Orie Hida (Japan) 10-0.981-9
3 Sruong Pheavy (Cambodja) 8-0.696-4
3 Ayako Sakai (Japan) 8-0.664-4
5 Estela Cardoso (Spain) 6-0.560-5
6 Min A Kim (Korea) 4-0.772-6
7 Gülsen Degener (Turkeye) 4-0.641-5
8 Steffi Daske (Germany) 4-0.431-6
9 Güzin Mujde Karakasli (Turkeye) 4-0.633-4
10 Irena Hambalkova (Czjech) 4-0.510-5
11 Jackeline Perez (Peru) 4-0.425-5
12 Jaimie Buelens (Belgium) 2-0.572-6
13 Helga Mitterböck (Austria) 2-0.431-4
14 Joke Breur (Netherlands) 2-0.415-3
15 Marianne Mortensen (Denmark) 2-0.364-3
16 Céline Jacques (France) 2-0.346-4.
Besty runs:
Therese Klompenhouwer and Orie Hida: 9
Average main tournamenti: 0.598.
Therese Klompenhouwer in the final with her orange fans in the back
Therese after her last point, hugged by her girlfriend Chantal
Ayako Sakai, an outsider on the podium
Orie Hida shows her shining smile after her semifinal win
Sruong Pheavy, one of the stars for the future