VEGHEL – The match couldn't have ended more enjoyable for the two camps of fans at the World Cup. The Dutch fan club of Dick Jaspers was happy, the Belgians cheering for Frédéric Caudron very delighted. Was it something kind of a friendly math in the derby of the low countries, the 40-40 of the two world champions in 20 innings? But for sure the two were both fighting for precious wins in the closing innings. Frédéric Caudron eventually finished first, Dick Jaspers equalized with 1 from the break. It should lead to the qualification of both players later in the evening.
That was how it happened on the first day of the real World Cup in Veghel, where 32 players were in action for 16 places in the knock-outs from Friday. And where the level of matches was improbably high, as accentuated among others in the matches of Quyet Chien Tran against Glenn Hofman (40-3 in 9!), Turgay Orak against Phuong Vinh Bao (40-39 in 11), Frédéric Caudron against Gwendal Maréchal (40-18 in 12), Thanh Luc Tran against Thanh Tien Le (40-25 in 12), Martin Horn against Marco Zanetti (40-23 in 13), Tayfun Tasdemir against Hoan Tat Nguyen (40-18 in 13) and Sameh Sidhom against Myeong Jong Cha (40-39 in 13).
The group winners by match points and average are:
Sameh Sidhom 6 match points, 2,181
Tayfun Tasdemir 5-2,142-17
Quyet Chien Tran 6 match points, 2,068
Frédéric Caudron 5, 2,000
Nick Polychronopoulos 6-1,643
Jun Tae Kim 4-1,579
Tolgahan Kiraz 4-1,573
Berkay Karakurt 4-1,430-6
The UMB sports director assures that Group H is the best group ever in terms of averages in a World Cup with groups of four. Sameh Sidhom was winner with 2,181, Myeong Jong Cha second with 2,245, Turgay Orak third with 1,516 and Phuong Vinh Bao even last with 2,522, the best average of all 32 players.
The fireworks on the day came even before the unadulterated Jaspers-Caudron of two Turks and one Vietnamese, who were on the tables next to each other in the second arena and captured the hearts of the spectators. The former world champion Phuong Vinh Bao stunted in his match against Turgay Orak with an early run of 15 and led 33-15, but the Turk launched a devastating counterattack, first with 9 in the 9th innings and two innings later with a final run of 15. The Vietnamese had the equalizer, had to score three times for a draw, but missed his last unfortunate one: 40-39 for Orak in 11 innings (3.636 and 3.545 average). What a great match in those first sessions of the day.
But even more to the imagination was the glorious demonstration and one-man-show by Quyet Chien Tran, the Vietnamese who treated one of Dutch's great players, Glenn Hofman, to a painful stumble. The scoreboard was relentless. Tran started with 4, 9, 5 and 4 and finished with 4 and 10, Hofman could only answer with a total of 3 caroms: 40-3 in 9 innings!!!. Earlier on the day, Tayfun Tasdemir also finished spectacularly in a brilliant match against Vietnamese Hoan Tat Nguyen: with a winning run of 17, good for 40-18 in 13 as final score.
The best-known players that dropped out of the World Cup are:
Eddy Merckx, Haeng Jik Kim, Ruben Legazpi, Marco Zanetti, Glenn Hofman, Jeffrey Jorissen, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Jung Han Heo.
The Belgians, Turks, Koreans and Vietnamese are in the last 16 with three players. Also 1 player from the Netherlands, 1 from Egypt, 1 from Greece and 1 from Germany.
The matches in the knockouts with the best 16:
12.00:
Sameh Sidhom-TTT Nguyen
Berkay Karakurt-Dick Jaspers
Frédéric Caudron-Myung Woo Cho
Tayfun Tasdemir-Martin Horn
14.30:
Nick Polychronopoulos-Roland Forthomme
Jun Tae Kim-Peter Ceulemans
Tolgahan Kiraz-Than Luc Tran
Quyet Chien Tran-Myeong Jong Cha
The overview of the eight groups on Thursday:
Group A:
The run-up to the top match goes as expected for Jaspers and Caudron with wins over Maréchal and Abdin, Caudron slightly better in average than Jaspers: 1.429 against 1.212. On TV table, in front of packed stands and no doubt thousands of viewers at home, the derby itself comes to an end at 40-40 in 20 innings. The match goes constantly up and down, with no really high runs (Caudron twice 7, Jaspers 6 and 5). Gwendal Maréchal keeps a chance to survive, but needs to beat Caudron. That does not succeed by a long shot. Caudron wins grandiosely 40-18 in 12 with a final 10 run. Dick Jaspers has more problems with Abdin than expected, but can still finish it off in the end with 40-37 in 29 innings.
The standings in Group A:
Frédéric Caudron 5-2,000-10
Dick Jaspers 5-1,463-7
Gwendal Maréchal 2-1.277-6
Mohamed Abdin 0-1,166-9
Group B:
The interesting group with three Vietnamese and Glenn Hofman starts with wins for Thanl Luc Tran and Quyet Chien Tran, leaving Hofman to chase right away. The Hague player bowes to Thanh Luc Tran 40-31 in 21, but recovers with a win over Thanh Tien Le 40-33 in 25. Quyet Chien Tran wins his first two games and is sure of qualification. Glenn Hofman later faces off against the group leader and will not soon forget that match. Quyet Chien Tran makes a real exhibition of the match with 40 in 9 innings, Glenn Hofman can only look on admiringly in his chair and scores only 3 caroms: 40-3 in 9!!!
The final score in Group B:
Quyet Chien Tran 6-2.068-19
Tanh Luc Tran 4-1,894-12
Glenn Hofman 2-1,345-7
Thanh Tien Le 0-1,548-8
Group C:
Myung Woo Cho, the young world champion, wins over Ruben Legazpi (40-29 in 27) and subdues Tolgahan Kiraz, who is close to winning himself, 40-38 in 27. The showdown follows without Jeffrey Jorissen still competing for qualification. The wonderful Hague fans may go home, as Jeffrey comes up just short in his first two games against Tolgahan Kiraz 40-37 in 24 innings and Ruben Legazpi 40-36 in 29. The day’s last is good for the Dutchman's confidence. Jorissen, thus already eliminated, beats the world champion, Myung Woo Cho, 40-20 in 18. ‘’Too bad I could not play anymore for my chances,‘’ he later speaks slightly disappointed. Tolgahan Kiraz is still group winner after winning over Ruben Legazpi (40-29 in 24) with 4 points and 1.573
The standings in Group C:
Tolgahan Kiraz 4-1,573-12
Myung Woo Cho 4-1,492-8
Jeffrey Jorissen 2-1,591-9
Ruben Legazpi 2-1,306-7
Group D:
The two Koreans decide in their mutual match who is the main contender: Jun Tae Kim beats Haeng Jik Kim 40-32 in 26 innings. Roland Forthomme (win overt HJ Kim, loss against Salman) and Gökhan Salman (win against Forthomme, loss against Jun Tae Kim) battle for second qualification. Roland Forthomme subdues Jun Tae Kim (40-29 in 26) and finishes in the lead with the Korean. Haeng Jik Kim comes last of the group behind Gökhan Salman, despite winning against the Turk in 15 innings.
The standings in Group D:
Jun Tae Kim 4-1.579-11
Roland Forthomme 4-1.317-8
Gökhan Salman 2-1,569-7
Haeng Jik Kim 2-1,537-8
Group E:
Torbjörn Blomdahl goes into the late session with good chances, but needs to win against Nick Polychronopoulos. Soon it does not look like that. The Swede did beat Eddy Merckx earlier in the second round 40-37 in 26, which almost certainly puts the Belgian out. TTT Nguyen still plays a role and even grabs second place after Polychronopoulos. The Greek beats Blomdahl in the last match 40-29 in 22, Eddy Merckx wins against Nguyen 40-34 in 25, but the Belgian, like Blomdahl, is eliminated on average.
The standings in Group E:
Nick Polychronopoulos 6-1,643-9
TTT Nguyen 2-1.537-8
Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-1,469-9
Eddy Merckx 2-1,303-7
Group F:
Berkay Karakurt is leader after two rounds with four match points, Martin Horn and Hwang follow on two points. It could still go either way in the final round, as even Marco Zanetti is not yet eliminated with 0 out of 2 with 1.666 average, the highest of all four in this group. The Italian wins against Berkay Karakurt in the last game (40-33 in 24), but the Turk is group winner. Martin Horn climbs to second place with a win over Bong Joo Hwang 40-31 in 35.
Standings in Group F:
Berkay Karakurt 4-1,430-6
Martin Horn 4-1,414-9
Marco Zanetti 2-1,666-10
Bong Joo Hwang 2-1,303-7
Group G:
Tayfun Tasdemir is superior in the first rounds with a win over Hoan Tat Nguyen (40-18 in 13, final series 17) and Peter Ceulemans with 40-28 in 20. Jung Han Heo steps up the tension with a win over Nguyen (40-38 in 20) and in the final round the suspense is still there. Peter Ceulemans, after a slow start, wins his match against Nguyen 40-37 in 20, but has to wait for the last game. If Heo wins, the average is decisive, if Tasdemir wins, the Turk is group winner and Ceulemans number 2. Tasdemir draws with 1 in the equalizer (40-40 in 23), is qualified himself and takes lucky Peter Ceulemans with him.
The standings in Group G:
Tayfun Tasdemir 5-2,142-17
Peter Ceulemans 4-1,588-9
Jung Han Heo 3-1,633-12
Hoan Tat Nguyen 0-1,754-11
Group H:
The final results indicate that this is by far the strongest group of four ever in a World Cup. Sameh Sidhom can secure qualification against Turgay Orak after a strong start and close finish against Myeong Jong Cha (40-39 in 13, averages 3,077/3,000). The match goes to the Egyptian 40-33 in 27 and as Phuong Vinh Bao draws against Cha, Sidhom is already certain. The last victories in this group go to Cha beating Orak (40-18 in 22) and to Sameh Sidhom, who wins vs unlucky Bao 40-32 in 15. The number last of the group Phinh Vinh Bao, finishes with 1 point and 2.522 average, the best of all 32 this day. And the most unlucky player by far.
The standings in Group H:
Sameh Sameh Sidhom 6-2,181-8
Myeong Jong Cha 3-2,245-12
Turgay Orak 2-1,516-15
Phuong Vinh Bao 1-2,522-15
