3-Cushion
BIRMINGHAM - At the podium of the 11th World Games in Birmingham, USA, Dick Jaspers won the world gold again this Sunday. The Dutch world champion sealed victory in the final against Colombian Jose Juan Garcia 40-18 in 13 innings, in front of a crowd of orange athletes and fans in the stands. For Jaspers, it was his second gold medal at the World Games after the victory in Taiwan, 2009. The podium was completed by Jose Juan Garcia and Eddy Merckx.
Rarely has Dick Jaspers, already in a brilliant form since last two years, been so superior in a global title match as this week at the World Games, where 3600 athletes in just over 100 disciplines compete for medals in known and unknown sports. Sixteen of the best billiard players in the world were invited for the three-cushion discipline, of whom Dick Jaspers was by far the best. The Dutchman defeated Pedro Piedrabuena (America), Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden), Eddy Merckx (Belgium) and finally Jose Juan Garcia, the young Colombian, who rejoined the world top after a serious motorbike accident in 2013. Other contenders, like Dani Sánchez, Marco Zanetti, Quyet Chien Tran, Tayfun Tasdemir and Martin Horn were eliminated in the run-up to the finals.
The Dutch gold at the World Games so far is the second gold in total for the orange athletes with 3 times silver and 2 times bronze, but the Netherlands is also favorite in the korfball final against Belgium tonight, late Sunday night.
Dick Jaspers, for his comment just returned from the dope control, assured this is a gold medal to cherish. ''I played four finals at the World Games now, I won once against Blomdahl, now against Garcia and twice I won silver by losing against Sánchez. This is a title that counts, you know. The World Games, that sounds very nice and important. I am very happy with it, because after all you are the best in the world. I also played a wonderful final, in which the Colombian started strongly, so I was warned immediately. But I quickly took over and was never in any danger, like in all my matches in this tournament, very miraculous.''
Afterwards Jaspers thanked the KNBB, his federation, for the support. ''I was able to give something back with the victory.'' Moreover, the winner said, he was surprised by the interest of the Dutch athletes. ''They came to support with a number of them, which I found very nice: also the chief d'équipe, the Dutch sports doctor. Wonderful that they all came to watch. I was the only Dutchman in billiards, because in snooker and in pool, no Dutch players could qualify. I would also like to mention two of my big sponsors, Hollywood billiards and Iwan Simonis, because I will be on stage tonight without those names. The World Games organization did not allow it. Therefore I would like to mention them.''
As in his three previous matches at the World Games, Jaspers also showed his superior class in the final. The Colombian youngster started with a run of 7 (7-0), but after that, the match developed into a one-man show of the Dutch ball master on the billiard trable. The 56-year old, five times world champion had his glorious part in the final in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings, in which he took a lead of 29-12 in 6 innings after runs of 6, 9 and 8. The Colombian could not recover from that mental blow. After another 7 by Jaspers, the game was already in the decisive zone, when the champion could afford to miss three match balls for his winning carom, and in the end he won convincingly 40-18 in only 13 innings.
The supremacy of Jaspers, who before this final assured to feel in an event with the Olympic spirit, was unequalled in this World Games: the Dutchman crushed all his opponents with a big score: against Piedrabuena 40-11 in 16, against Blomdahl 40-20 in 21, against Merckx 40-16 in 14 and in the final against Garcia 40-18 in 13, a total score in four matches of 160-65, exactly 2,500 on average, an absolute record for the World Games.
Jose Juan Garcia beat Tayfun Tasdemir, Quyet Chien Tran and Pedro Gonzalez on his way to the final. Eddy Merckx defeated Colombia's Gonzalez in the battle for third place at the podium on Saturday night.
Dick Jaspers, the very best in all his matches at the World Games
The final players Dick Jaspers and Jose Juan Garcia and the referees Paul Brekelmans and Hervé Lacombe