It is always a good idea to catch up with Torbjörn Blomdahl. He and Marco Zanetti are the most seasoned of all the top players, and they can view the 3-cushion world with perspective. Blomdahl lived on the mountain top for many years, winning more World Cups (44) than any player in history. Now he has lost his seeded position, slipped in the ranking and needs to work hard to make it all the way back. If this champion from Sweden, a realist and a smart man, looks around him, what does he see?
BvM: Your first podium finish in a World Cup since La Baule 2017. It must feel good to beat the world nr. 1 and be close to another big win. Or was it overshadowed by the disappointment over the loss against Palazon?
"I can't really complain about the way things went for me in Blankenberge. There's no such thing as an "easy" draw anymore, but I had a fairly decent one. Worked my way into the last 32 and managed to beat Jaspers in a shootout. Of course, the loss against Palazon was disappointing, anyone who saw the match can understand that. But I was happy to play on a Sunday again, that was a long time ago."
BvM: You had a tough few years, with medical issues getting in the way of your practice and affecting your focus on the game. How do you feel these days, in terms of health?
"My health has not been good in the past few years; I've had a few operations and a string of little inconveniences. I used to always be problem-free: no flu, no head cold, nothing. Now it is something different every month, including a tonsil that was so swollen I had to go the hospital, right after the Swedish championship. But that was fixed, and I feel okay now."
BvM: Some players made the transition to the PBA tour, most didn't. You were - amazingly - not even asked. What's the story behind that?
"You would have to ask that question to the PBA, or Bravo & New. I don't know, I can only speculate. Maybe it's because Zanetti and I told the PBA guys from the beginning that they would have to work with the UMB, go through the proper channels. It's not because I play with a Molinari cue. They tried to sign other Molinari players."
BvM: Have you watched some of the first PBA tournament? Can you comment on the changes they made to the lag, the break, the format in general? Will this be a success?
"I haven't watched that first PBA event at all, but I know about the changes that were made, of course. The different break positions: how can you compare player averages when they can have an advantageous or a disadvantageous break? I am not talking about the opponent, but about other players in the same tournament. But the conversation about the PBA should not focus on the format. It should be about the players. Would you watch Wimbledon if Federer was in it, and the next 20 top players were not? No Djokovic, no Nadal, no Zverev, no Thiem, no Del Potro, no Cilic. And the second seed was maybe Gilles Simon. It would not be the major tennis event of the year; it would be silly."
Blomdahl's Blankenberge ended when Palazon defended just too well. Picture: Dirk Acx / Kozoom.
BvM: We saw in Blankenberge that some players averaged over 1.800 and did not even make the last 32. The level keeps getting higher. You and Sánchez have slipped on the world ranking. Can the two of you fight your way back into the seeded positions?
"You know Dani, he can wear two faces. Sometimes he is a little bothered by something, and he is vulnerable. And there are times when he shows up with perfect focus and the will to win, and then he is almost unstoppable. He had that state of mind, that "refusing to miss" when he made the comeback from, I think it was 23-1 against Philipoom. If he plays like that, there is nothing you can do. As for me, I am already back in the top 14 after Blankenberge, but I need to do well in Porto. A few players behind me on the list have more points to protect, so it can be done. But I will be in a group with Caudron, and probably there will be a qualifier in our group who has played 2.600 (laughs). So, that's going to be interesting but tough. I need to also keep an eye on the top 17, which is automatic invitation to the World Championship in Randers."
"Things changed for me after 2015, when I won both the European Championship in Brandenburg and the World Championship in Bordeaux. Especially the last one was a title I had chased for so many years. It felt like I had reached my main goals, and maybe I relaxed a little too much after that. It was bad timing, because in the following years, UMB prize money went up and there were additional important tournaments, so I really should have tried to stay in peak form. But I didn't, and then the general level of play in all the major events went up like crazy. You can now lose ANY match you are in, and every single one of your opponents can make 40 in 15. It's a situation we've never really been in. In the old days, you could have a few early rounds where you played six, seven innings and knew for certain you were going to win. Those days are over."
"Twenty-five years ago, I always played better in matches than I did in practice. Then it started to even out, become more or less the same. These days, I can be downright poor in practice, or extremely productive. Recently, I shot a 40 in 5 in Korea, in training. But I've also had long practice sessions where I struggled to break 1.700. And I had something like 1.200 in Vietnam recently. All I can hope for, is for things to settle down a bit, get back to normality. That will give me the best chance of getting into a practice routine that works for me, and hopefully allows me to play well where it matters."