GURI - However the start of the World Cup in Guri is a battlefield for top ten players on the first day, Dick Jaspers survived the opening day easily. The Dutch number one at the international level, started with a stunning victory over the Korean Jae Guen Kim. Dani Sánchez and Nikos Polychronopoulos were, after Caudron and Zanetti, the top twelve players who disappeared in the first rounds of the tournament. Two high runs in the fifth and ninth inning (12 and 16) paved the way to a riant win for Dick Jaspers (40-15 in 20), although the second half of the match showed some hickups. ,,I was a little worried, because I had to be here early for the opening ceremony. That means a few hours hanging around and wait until I could start.''
Still, he explained, he felt comfortable in the first part, in which he could impose his opponent immediately. ,,Then, I had a relapse, missed some difficult positions, but I was never threatened. That surprised me, because Jae Guen Kim is one of the strong Korean players.''
In addition to the world's number one, Guri also lost last year's winner on the first day. Dani Sánchez couldn't impress for one moment in the match against Ruben Legazpi. He was put on a backlog soon (18-12), still came close to his compatriot (28-26), but eventually had to bow for him (40-31 in 23).
Nikos Polychronopoulos came across one of the not so famous Koreans: the Harry Potter of the circuit, Young Hoon Lee. The Greeks lost the 25-19 lead in the final part, when Lee scored 21 times in five innings and Nikos only 12 times.
Adnan Yüksel, with a wildcard in the tournament, had a very promising start and defeated one of the stars of the last qualification round, the Vietnamese Ngo Dinh Nai, 40-29 in 20.
Ruben Legazpi (left) won the match against Dani Sánchez, last year's winner in Guri
The Korean Young Hoon Lee surprised win a win over Nikos Polychronopoulos