Final dance... and no Korean dancers in the ballroom

SUWON - The quarterfinals of the World Cup in Suwon will be a fully European party. Sung-Won Choi, Dong Kang Koong, Hyung Bum Hwang and the new hero Sang Pil Um were the last Korean players in the field, dashed off in the round with the top sixteen players.

The selection in winners and losers on the day before the finals, turned out in a disappointment for the homeland. Dong Kang Koong fought like a lion, but was knocked down in a great battle with Eddy Merckx (decisive fifth set 15-14), Sung-Won Choi was pretty hopeless in his final set against Marco Zanetti, Hyung Bum Hwang lost the fight with Jérémy Bury and the heroic Sang Pil Um had to leave the tournament after nine winning matches: he lost against Dutchman Raimond Burgman.
 
Two Dutch (Dick Jaspers and Raimond Burgman), one Belgian (Eddy Merckx), one Spaniard (Dani Sánchez), one Italian (Marco Zanetti), one Swede (Torbjörn Blomdahl), one Frenchman (Jeremy Bury) and one Greek (Filippos Kasidokostas ) will meet later today (Saturday) in the battle for the top prizes.
 
Dick Jaspers topped his opponent and former team mate Martin Horn in the eighth finals (3-1) and also signed for the best average in this session (2.320).

Raimond Burgman sent home the player who was the hero in this World Cup from the very first day, but apparently felt the tension rise in this stage of the tournament. Sang Pil Um nevertheless took a 2-1 lead, but then could not finish. The Dutchman grabbed the win in the two last sets: 15-2 and 15-4.
 
Jérémy Bury also had a better endshot than Hyung Bum Hwang, who twice took the lead in sets (15-12, 15-13), but eventually could not beat the tough fighter Bury. The Frenchman won the last two sets 15-11 and 15-6.
 
Torbjörn Blomdahl bested his opponent, Vietnamese Ma, who last year played the semifinals in Suwon, but now was beaten in three sets by the winner of last year's tournament. The Swede was superior in two sets and won the last with two caroms: 15-7, 15-10, 15-13.
 
The quarter-finals:
Merckx-Kasidokostas
Zanetti-Sánchez
Blomdahl-Burgman
Bury Jaspers.