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Vietnamese killer, Korean comet, Swedish whirlwind

10/27/2017

Published by frits bakker

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The Vietnamese Xuan Cuong Ma: last year's killer for Caudron, now for Zanetti

LA BAULE - The same arena, exactly the same billiard table, only one year later in the World Cup in La Baule. The forty-year-old Vietnamese Xuan Cuong Ma remembers exactly: the historic victory for his country last year against Frédéric Caudron in eleven innings (40-19). Now, one year later, Ma again was facing a world three cushion star: Marco Zanetti. And again he left the arena with a sensational win. The whimsical Asian overwhelmed his opponent with an amazing final run of six: 40-37 in 21 innings. His heart was still beating in his throat, minutes after the match, with a quick cigarette on the balcony of the World Cup arena. The drops of sweat came down his forehead, he was speechless of happiness.

On the French west coast, in the affluent town of La Baule, the sixth three cushion World Cup of this year was launched today. The President of UMB, Mr. Farouk Barki, opened the tournament, played in the traditional occupation with 32 final participants. In his speech, he gave the world of three cushion hope for the future. ,,We have great plans to give the development of young players a boost with world-wide support.'' The president knows all too well how important it is to cherish the scanty talents and promote three-cushion in the world.

The second to last World Cup this year started up with Dani Sánchez from Spain as the world's number one and Haeng-Jik Kim from South Korea as the World Cup leader. Murat Naci Coklu from Turkey was last year's winner of the World Cup in La Baule. The Koreans led the parade with ten players in the final field, the Turks with five, the Vietnamese with four, the Belgians with three. Jérôme Barbeillon and Jean Paul de Bruijn were the wildcard holders. The starter turned out into the day of a Vietnamese killer, a Korean comet, a Swedish whirlwind and a Belgian anti-climax.

The top of the world ranking already lost some prominent players. Marco Zanetti was the first to go out against Ma, followed by Sameh Sidhom (by Sung-Won Choi), Eddy Merckx (by Jean Paul de Bruijn), Nikos Polychronopoulos (by Can Capak), Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (by Chi Yeon Cho) and Jérémy Bury (by Birol Uymaz). As a result, the only two French on their own ground are already out of the tournament after the first day. Jérémy Bury lost his way after being 20-18 ahead, still got plenty of chances, but was knocked out in the final stage: Birol Uymaz seized victory 40-34 in 32.

The opening cracker, between Torbjörn Blomdahl and Semih Sayginer, had a striking history: the Swede won 11 out of his last 12 matches against Sayginer. He only lost his last in this year's World Cup in Luxor. The Turkish magician showed a great form in recent weeks, but went down at the end of the match against Blomdahl. ,,I made three huge lucky shots, Semih made a couple of crucial misses and at the end I was good enough for the win'', the Swede, who celebrated his 55th birthday in a small company, looked back at the match. Sayginer's lead shortly after the break (24-21) was wiped away by Blomdahl's final attack (5, 4 and 8 to the finish): 40-29 in 20.

The Belgian clash between Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Leppens was a race that quickly lost all its tension. Caudron's supremacy was too big, Leppens couldn't match at all and went down without any chance. Most of the matches between the two Belgian big guns are attractive and exciting, now Caudron was the only driver on the one-way-road: 40-16 in 20.

Just behind, at the other table, Eddy Merckx and Jean Paul de Bruijn faced in a Holland-Belgium meeting, which also was not a real battle. De Bruijn attacked by two seven runs around the break and was the better of Merckx, who couldn't show his feared fighting spirit: 40-26 in 22. The Dutchman, who makes so many vain attempts to shine in a World Cup , grabbed his chance with the wild card offered by the organizer. ,,I'm happy to reward Joël Switala, who means so much to us, with this victory.'' Tomorrow is the battle between the two La Baule team players: Caudron vs De Bruijn.

Korean Haeng-Jik Kim, skyrocketed on the rankings after his two consecutive World Cup victories, also demonstrated his high class in La Baule in his first performance. The French audience could see him live now in his match against Jérôme Barbeillon. Haeng-Jik Kim, without airs and graces, in his flowing style, with his rock solid stroke. The sponsors are waiting in line for the new star: LG, Simonis, Ventus, Hanbat..., Haeng-Jik Kim's is hot for the big sponsors in billiard. His first match says a lot about his form: Kim attacked with 27-4 in 9 against Barbeillon after a nine-run in the 13th, he approached the finish, but he only made his last point at 40-19 in 19.

Dani Sánchez looked tired after his slow start against Adnan Yüksel (40-26 in 29). The long stay in Korea has visibly depleted the world champion. ,,I'm really tired, I don't sleep well and can't focus on the game'', he said. ,,Look at the score: I play my best when I can make high runs, the best in this match is four...'' The company, the business (DS billiards) and other things are in his mind. ,,I worry about the situation in Catalonia. I'm very concerned about that. Many companies are in danger. And people ask me, are you Catalan or Spaniard? These things are in my mind and distract from the game.''

The match between the two Koreans Jung-Han Heo and Myung-Woo Cho led to many discussions afterwards. Heo was sent to the chair in his run of six after a miscue: the cue ball missed the second ball, came back out of the corner, hit the second and touched the third ball after three cushions in a strange way. The referee announced a miss (six carom made for 33-32). The commotion at the end, after Myung-Woo Cho's win, 40-35 in 25, was about international rules. The UMB says that a point must be counted after a mis cue (fausse-queue). UMB President Farouk Barki assured: ,,Those rules also apply in the CEB, the European Federation.'' In France, however, rules are used differently and a player is penalized for a miscue.

The field of sixteen after one day still consists of six Koreans. Two big guns on the first day, Haeng-Jik Kim and Dong-Koong Kang, face each other tomorrow. Dani Sánchez against Murat Naci Coklu is the final match in La Baule last year. The only run over ten on the opening day was made by Dick Jaspers, who beat David Martinez 40-19 in 21 with a run of 11!

The matches for the next round:
11.00:
Sánchez-Coklu
Jae-Ho Cho-Blomdahl
Kang-Haeng-Jik Kim
Choi-Ma

13.00:
Caudron-De Bruijn
Capak-Chi Yeon Cho
Uymaz-Myung-Woo Cho
Jaspers-Tran.

 

Haeng-Jik Kim, the rising start on the rankings after two World Cup wins in a row

Torbjörn Blomdahl, winner after a better finish against Semih Sayginer

Semih Sayginer left the building after one round and a loss to Blomdahl

Dani Sánchez, not the best start, really tired after a long stay in Vietnam, but still a win in the opener

Dong-Koong Kang, the best winner on the opening day with 40 in 15

 

Frédéric Caudron, on a one-way-road to beat Eddy Leppens

Jean Paul de Bruijn, a wild card and a great start: win against Merckx

Birol Uymaz is in the last sixteen after his win against Bury

Jérémy Bury left the stage as the last French player

Dick Jaspers, focussed on his last points against David Martinez

Murat Naci Coklu, the title holder in La Baule, on his way to his first success

Can Capak knocked out Nikos Polychronopoulos

The final field for the main draw: 32 players for the World Cup in La Baule

Ten Koreans to fire up the World Cup

The five Turkish players on a mission

The young French talents for the title race in the same arena as the World Cup

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