VIERSEN – The first players for the World’s three-cushion team championship are arriving in the German city of Viersen these days. The stronghold where so many magnificent title battles have been fought is preparing for the 38th edition of this traditional tournament. The main contenders for a new world title come from the Netherlands (defending champions), Korea, Vietnam, Belgium, Turkey, Spain, Colombia and the host nation, Germany. The most seasoned player in the entire field is Torbjörn Blomdahl (63), the youngest player is Amir Ibraimov (17). Champions with impressive records and debutants will meet from Thursday, February 26th, to Sunday, March 1st, at the Festhalle in Viersen.
The Dutch won last year with Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn and are coming to the World championship this year with Dick Jaspers and Glenn Hofman. The Belgians are aiming for a podium finish with Eddy Merckx and Ronny Brants, the Germans with Martin Horn and Amir Ibraimov, the Koreans with Myung Woo Cho and Wan Young Choi, the Vietnamese with Quyet Chien Tran and Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen, and the Turks with Tayfun Tasdemir and Berkay Karakurt. Record-holding Sweden will field Torbjörn Blomdahl and David Pennör, the Spanish with Ruben Legazpi and Sergio Jimenez. The unpredictable Colombians will send the same team that played last year: Pedro Gonzalez and Huberney Cataño.
Glenn Hofman makes his debut for Netherlands first team at this year's World championship, after he played for Netherlands 2 with Jean van Erp. Ronny Brants will be competing on this podium for Belgium for the first time. The Netherlands won gold last year in the final against Vietnam, where Jaspers defeated Quyet Chien Tran and De Bruijn defeated Phuong Vinh Bao. Further on the podium were the Belgians with Peter Ceulemans and Roland Forthomme, and the Turks with Berkay Karakurt and Ufuk Kapusiz. Two of the quarterfinals were decided in Scotch doubles after a draw in the regular matches. The Netherlands qualified for gold after first defeating South Korea in the play-off and later also Turkey in the semifinal.
The Germans have won the World Championship four times in total and are waiting for their fifth victory since 2002. Current national coach Christian Rudolph was part of the winning team four times: in 1993 and 1994 with Maxime Aguirre, in 1997 with Johann Schrimbrand, and in 2002 with Martin Horn. The home team with Martin Horn and Amir Ibraimov, which will enjoy tremendous support from the crowd, plays in the group with Vietnam, France and Mexico this year. The Dutch and Belgians play in the same group and face Sweden and Greece. The opening round is on Thursday at 12.00 pits the teams of Spain and Egypt (Legazpi-Sidhom) and Korea and the USA (Myung Woo Cho-Raymon Groot) against each other. The Netherlands will first play Greece at 14.00 (Jaspers-Polychronopoulos), the Belgians also play Sweden in that round (Merckx-Blomdahl).
The total field includes six individual world champions:
Torbjörn Blomdahl 6 titles
Dick Jaspers 5
Eddy Merckx 2
Myung Woo Cho 1
Tayfun Tasdemir 1
Ryuuji Umeda 1
The countries and lineups:
Netherlands: Dick Jaspers, Glenn Hofman
Germany: Martin Horn, Amir Ibraimov
Turkey: Tayfun Tasdemir, Berkay Karakurt
Greece: Nick Polychronopoulos, Dimitrios Seleventas
Belgium: Eddy Merckx, Ronny Brants
France: Jérémy Bury, Mikaël Devogelaere
Sweden: Torbjörn Blomdahl, David Pennör
Spain: Ruben Legazpi, Sergio Jimenez
Colombia: Pedro Gonzalez, Huberney Cataño
USA: Raymon Groot, Pedro Piedrabuena
Mexico: Christian Hernandez, Alejandro Santiago
Japan: Ryuuji Umeda, Takao Miyashita
South Korea: Myung Woo Cho, Wan Young Choi
Vietnam: Quyet Chien Tran, Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen
Egypt: Sameh Sidhom, Mahmoud Ayman
Jordan: Mashhour Abu Tayeh, Ahmed Al Ghababsheh
Group divisions:
Group A: Turkey, Japan, Colombia, Jordan
Group B: Vietnam, Germany, France, Mexico
Group C: Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Greece
Group D: Spain, South Korea, USA, Egypt