ANKARA – What a climax to the day it was in the early evening at the World Cup in Ankara. 48-year-old Korean Jung Han Heo, who started his mission with a loss to Marco Zanetti 40-26 in 15, ended the first final round with 32 in an incredibly wonderful way against Omer Karakurt, one of the nine Turks who did not survive the first round. Heo felt sky high, scoring a run of 22 on 15-11 in the 7th inning and went one inning later with 3. The final score: 40-15 in 8, averaging 5,000 for the Korean, who also made runs of 16 and 10 in his first two matches. Jung Han Heo was last year's winner in the World Cup in Ankara in the final against Vietnam's Bao. He has been on the podium at a World Cup seven times so far, and before Ankara, he won the World Cup in Hurghada in 2016 in a final against Dick Jaspers. The loss to Zanetti in the first round in today’s World Cup put Heo in second place, but by far with the best average: 2.717 with runs of 22 and 16.
The first day in the main draw was disastrous for the Turkish home players. Two Turks advance to the top 16: Tayfun Tasdemir and Tolgahan Kiraz. The Turkish exodus included no fewer than nine names: Salman, Yavuz, Berkay and Omer Karakurt, Ozcan, Rahmet, Orak, Yilmaz and Alp.
Saturday's round of 16 will start with a top match. Dick Jaspers, the world number 1, faces Myung Woo Cho, the world champion.
The overview of the 8 groups of four:
Group A:
The world number one almost makes one of his rare mistakes. Dick Jaspers just manages to get through the first round, because he is saved at the last minute by Jean Paul de Bruijn, who loses an almost certain qualification in Group A. Jérémy Bury is by far the best with 6 match points, also beating Jaspers 40-31 in 19 and taking his opponent from that last round with him to the next round. Jaspers finishes with 2 match points and 1,786. Jean Paul de Bruijn, who plays a World Cup with high peaks and too deep lows, has that second place within reach, but after his magnificent victory over Jaspers, he is first defeated by Bury and finally by Javier Vera, who makes the difference with runs of 9, 7 and 6: 40-31 in 19.
The standings in Group A:
1 Jérémy Bury 6-1,846-12
2 Dick Jaspers 2-1,786-6
3 Javier Vera 2-1,470-9
4 Jean Paul de Bruijn 2-1,421-11
Group B:
All doubts about Myung Woo Cho's form have been dispelled. The world champion had a rough patch, but is shining again in the first matches at the World Cup in Ankara. The start of the group stage is impressive with a win over Glenn Hofman: 40-26 in 12 (3,333 against 2,167). Gökhan Salman stays a little closer (40-35 in 21) and in his last match against Tarik Yavuz, who was extremely strong in the preliminary rounds, Cho strikes again: 40-16 in 18. Glenn Hofman and Gökhan Salman are battling for second place. The Dutch player is superior, takes a comfortable lead 26-6 in 10 and qualifies with great superiority: 40-13 in 17. The two Turks in this groups disappear from the tournament.
The standings in Group B:
1 Myung Woo Cho 6-2.352-10
2 Glenn Hofman 4-1.737-8
3 Gökhan Salman 2-1.543-7
4 Tarik Yavuz 0-0.898-4
Group C:
The start is promising for the two best players in this group of four. Eddy Merckx and Haeng Jik Kim share the win after 20-10 for the Korean and Merckx's comeback with a run of 9. Kim finishes first, Merckx equalises with 2 in 19 innings. Both Kim and Merckx finish with 5 match points, Ozcan and Thai lag behind.
The standings in Group C:
1 Haeng Jik Kim 5-1.967-8
2 Eddy Merckx 5-1.764-9
3 Yilmaz Ozcan 2-1.308-6
4 HC Thai 0-1.492-7
Group D:
The Vietnamese clash between Quyet Chien Tran and Phuong Vinh Bao sets the pace. Former world champion Bao wins 40-29 in 19. The tension returns when Tran defeats Korea's Ja In Kang 40-13 in 15 and two runs of 10. Bao suffers a loss against Rahmet and in the final session three players can come tied with 4 points. Tran is the best in average for Bao, Rahmet has to drop out.
The standings in Group D:
1 Quyet Chien Tran 4-1.946-10
2 Phuong Vinh Bao 4-1.555-8
3 Muammer Rahmet 4-1.379-6
4 Ja In Kang 0-1.014-11
Group E:
Dimitrios Seleventas shines after Frédéric Caudron’s elimination one day before, now in the group with Tranh Luc Tran and two Turks. With his glorious victory in his last match, Seleventas climbs to the top position at the expense of Berkay Karakurt with 4 match points and 1,947. That can easily be called the breakthrough of the young Greek, who only lost his first match against Vietnamese TL Tran 40-31 in 20. Seleventas wins in 20 against Orak and in 17 against Karakurt. Tran follows as number 2 in the standings.
Standings in Group E:
1 Dimitrios Seleventas 4-1,947-8
2 Thanh Luc Tran 4-1,750-11
3 Berkay Karakurt 2-1,583-7
4 Turgay Orak 2-1,265-12
Group F:
Three players are evenly matched, Tayfun Tasdemir and Myung Jong Cha advance, Ruben Legazpi is left empty-handed. The three players at the top have 4 match points, the averages are close to each other. Only Martin Horn has no chance with 0 match points and 1.318. Tasdemir saves his place by beating Horn in the last round (40-33 in 23), Myeong Jong Cha comfortably defeats Legazpi 40-16 in 19.
Standings in Group F:
1 Myeong Jong Cha 4-1.642-9
2 Tayfun Tasdemir 4-1.527-8
3 Ruben Legazpi 4-1.523-10
4 Martin Horn 0-1.318-10
Group G:
Jung Han Heo's exhibition reverberates long after in the Turkish arena. More or less it overshadows Marco Zanetti’s flawless performance, who first defeats Heo and then Karakurt and Yilmaz, good for 6 match points. Jung Han Heo, last year's winner in the World Cup in Ankara, has announced his candidacy for another victory with his amazing average and high runs.
Standings in Group G:
1 Marco Zanetti 6-1.818-9
2 Jung Han Heo 4-2.717-22
3 Omer Karakurt 4-1.415-7
4 Vedat Yilmaz 0-1.151-7
Group H:
The second Turk to advance to the last 16 is Tolgahan Kiraz, who remains undefeated. He first defeats Ahmet Alp 40-25 in the round in which Sameh Sidhom beats Peter Ceulemans 40-35 in 20 with a run of 16. Kiraz climbs to the top with a win over Sidhom (40-30 in 16) and finally Kiraz draws against Peter Ceulemans in 21. Sameh Sidhom is second with an even better average than Kiraz.
Standings in Group H:
1 Tolgahan Kiraz 5-2.000-12
2 Sameh Sidhom 4-2.291-16
3 Ahmet Alp 2-1.156-9
4 Peter Ceulemans 101.571-8
Myung Woo Cho, the world champion, was the best of 8 winners
Tolgahan Kiraz, one of two Turks to move on, 9 Turks were eliminated
Dimitrios Seleventas, remarkable young face in the best 16
The eight group winners on Friday:
1 Myung Woo Cho 6-2.352-10
2 Jérémy Bury 6-1.846-12
3 Marco Zanetti 6-1.818-9
4 Tolgahan Kiraz 5-2.000-12
5 Haeng Jik Kim 5-1.967-8
6 Dimitrios Seleventas 4-1.947-8
7 Quyet Chien Tran 4-1.946-10
8 Myeong Jong Cha 4-1.642-9
The matches in the last 16, Saturday:
Turkish time 12:00, Western Europe 11:00
Myung Woo Cho-Dick Jaspers
Myeong Jong Cha-Eddy Merckx
Haeng Jik Kim-Thanh Luc Tran
Tolgahan Kiraz-Glenn Hofman
Turkish time 14:30 (Western Europe 13:30):
Marco Zanetti-Phuong Vinh Bao
Dimitrios Seleventas-Sameh Sidhom
Quyet Chien Tran-Jung Han Heo
Jérémy Bury-Tayfun Tasdemir.