Javier Palazón and the long way back up

HURGHADA - The memory of one year ago was marked by a smile on his face. Javier Palazón (27) was one of the great promises in the world of three cushion, with three junior world titles in 2005, 2008 and 2009. He was on the stage of a real World championship twice, but from then on the highlights were more scarce. The exception was last year's World Cup in Hurghada where he defeated Frédéric Caudron (40 in 12 innings) and Eddy Leppens before he lost in the semi-final against Korean Dong Koong Kang.

The return to the scene of his last major success was not really impressive to start off. With two victories and one average, Palazón advanced, almost for granted, to the next round, where he is in a battle for a place in the main tournament in a group with Hyung Kon Kim and Riad Nady.

The Spaniard has no real explanation for what happened in the intervening year. He's got a busier calendar with league play in France and Germany, he travelled to Argentina for a month in the summer to teach billiards, but realizes that he needs to practice more to join the real top again.

He knows all too well how difficult that is. ,,Look at the rankings: Frédéric Caudron is the best player in the world and he is the number twelve on the ranking. With matches to forty points, all the top players have become vulnerable.''

Javier Palazón, who lives with his girlfriend and is a full-time teacher of billiards, wants to improve his form and feeling in Hurghada. He played well at the World Cup in Korea (1.600), less in Istanbul and lost his two matches so far in the French league. Two Turks, Kemal Gunaydin and Savas Gungor, were a nice warm up today. The serious work in the final qualifying begins tomorrow. Javier Palazón, dropped to the 41st position in the world and will try to climb up quickly to where he feels he belongs.

Semih Sayginer had a fabulous start in the tournament with a win over Gungor Bastunali in ten innings (30-8). That made him visibly happy, but the Turk was the first to temper the optimism somewhat. ,,I don't want to put myself under too much pressure in World Cups, because we all know how difficult it is to survive two days and reach the main tournament'', he emphasized at this stage, one and a half years after his return. He doesn't feel that the time is chasing him. ,,I always said that I need two years to be all the way back. But there's no pressure, I play, I enjoy and it comes the way it comes.''

His second match in the group was not of the same level: Sayginer defeated the German Thomas Kerl without being in trouble, but spoilt too many innings in the opening phase (16-8 in 18). He won and finished fourth place on the day ranking with 1.500, together with the young Korean Myung Woo Cho.

Therese Klompenhouwer, the world champion, who has been in an excellent form for weeks, has to leave the World Cup after one day. The unfortunate loss in the first match with an opponent (Haluk Kara) who finished with six and four (from 24-20), forced her to win the second. The Korean Jin Pyo Hong disrupted her illusions when he closed the match in 24 innings. Klompenhouwer did what she could and made seven in the equalizer.

For the first time in a World Cup, the Frenchman Gregory Le Deventec was one of the new stars in the field. He not only defeated the experienced Turk Tolgahan Kiraz (30-22 in 24), in his first match, but also Korean Ji Hun Ahn 30-24 in 25, making him the group winner to survive this day.

The 33-year-old player from Douarnenez in Britanny was mainly known as a one cushion player so far. In this discipline, he was second behind Alain Remond once, and he finished fifth at the European championships in Brandenburg after losing to Frédéric Caudron. Le Deventec now combines three cushion with one cushion, had some lessons from Pierre Soumagne and felt on cloud nine when he was the only Frenchman to qualify for the next day.

Jean Reverchon disappeared through the back door after losses to Myung Woo Cho (who finished with ten) and Rudi Hendrickx.

Gokhan Salman was the very best on the penultimate day, heading the list with four match points and 1.935, ahead of Jae Guen Kim 1.578 and Kostas Papakonstantinos 1.538.

The top sixteen consists of six Turks, four Koreans, three Egyptians (Ihab El Messery, Hesham Zaghoul and Hesham Saad), one Spaniard, one Greek and one Frenchman.

Four players from the reserve list come to the final round, as Jérémy Bury and three Vietnamese have cancelled.

Gokhan Salman

The top sixteen on Tuesday:

1 Gokhan Salman 4-1.935-6
2 Jae Guen Kim 4-1.578-8
3 Kostas Papakonstantinou 4-1.538-11
4 Myung Woo Cho 4-1.500-10
5 Semih Sayginer 4-1.500-9
6 Birol Uymaz 4-1.304-7
7 Ihab El Messery 4-1.224-7
8 Gregory Le Deventec 4-1.224-6
9 Durk Hee Hwang 4-1.111-6
10 Ahmed Bayatrli 4-1.090-7
11 Javier Palazón 4-1.090-5
12 Mehmet Goren 4-0.967-6
13 Hesham Zaghloul 4-0.731-5
14 Jin Pyo Hong 3-1.333-7
15 Savas Bulut 3-1.132-9
16 Hesham Saad 2-0.846-5.

The four reserve players:

1 Dionisis Tsokontas 3-1.052-11
2 Tolgahan Kiraz 2-1.116-8
3 Can Capak 2-1.116-8
4 Haluk Kara 2-1.044-6.

Emrullah Basegmez (2 points, 1.044), Ahmet Alp (2 points, 1.037), Johann Schirmbrand (2 points, 1.037) en Dustin Jäschke (2 points 0.861) are eliminated.

The most remarkable groups fort he last day of qualifications:

Group A with Jean Paul de Bruijn, Myung Woo Cho and Semih Sayginer

Group C: Jae Guen Kim, Pedro Piedrabuena, Ihab El Messery

Group E: Adnan Yüksel, Murat Tüzül, Durk Hee Hwang

Group J: Lütfi Cenet, Christian Rudolph, Jin Pyo Hong

Group K: Tolgahan Kiraz, Can Capak, Savas Bulut

Group L: Murat Naci Coklu, Nikos Polychronopoulos, Hesham Saad.

Semih Sayginer had a fabulous start with 3.000 average

Myung Woo Cho finished with ten against Jean Reverchon

Gregory Le Deventec, the new French 'kid on the block' in Hurghada

Savas Bulut escaped in the last thrilling innings of his match