Junior title is back in Korea: Myeong Gyu Oh

ANKARA - Korea's new junior world champion is just 19 and has dethroned the Turkish nation's big favorite. Myeong Gyu Oh succeeds Burak Hashas (17), who is hot in his own country. In the final match, Korean Oh defeated only 15-year-old German Amir Ibraimov in a superb fight. The Korean was just a bit more decisive in the final, winning 35-33 in 37/36 innings. Completing the podium were Burak Hashas and Spaniard Daniel Sainz Pardo. The Korean talents dominated at least 3 championships in recent years with Myung Woo Cho, who won in 2016 (Hurghada), Izmir (2018) and Valencia (2019), twice, in 2016 and 2019 with three Koreans on the top podium. Last year, Burak Hashas was the then only 16-year-old world champion in the Netherlands.

World championship revelation Amir Ibraimov pulled off the big stunt of the tournament by eliminating Burak Hashas in the semi-final 35-23 in 21/20 innings. The German started 2-2-7 in that match, had a 16-10 lead in 6 after a run of 5, later ran out to 24-13 in 10 and gave the top favorite no chance to get back in the match: 35-23 in 21. The Turkish youngster had to relinquish his title, but finished with the best average (1.521) and made the highest run of 15.

Myeong Gyu Oh and Amir Ibraimov played a fantastic final in front of a small crowd in the Turkish arena. The German took the lead with runs of 3, 5 and 3 and held a 13-7 lead in 10 innings. After a slightly better phase for Oh, the score was level at 19-19 in 15 and from then on only stayed in balance: 21-21, 24-23, 27-27, 31-31, until the Korean reached 34-33, Ibraimov then missed three times and Oh made the winning carom: 35-33 in 37/36. Myeong Gyu Oh was in a group of three in the preliminaries with Dimitrios Seleventas, the number two of the previous World championship and Alptekin Canozkan. Oh won both games, 25-24  vs Canozkan and 25-13 in 15 vs Seleventas. The Greek was surprisingly eliminated last of that group. Burak Hashas was the best in average of those preliminary rounds with 1.470, Amir Ibraimov finished victorious in his group with Sanchez and Akkoca with 25-23 and 25-24.

The knock-outs started with wins for Oh against Moscoso (35-20 in 27), Ibraimov against Sanchez (35-33 in 41) and Hashas against Gorguc with 35-15 in 15/14. Dutchman Joris van 't Zelfden played the most bizarre match of the championship. He scored a run of 10, was three points from winning against Mexico's Goncalos Santos, but let his opponent escape from 32-10 as the Dutchman himself produced 16 zeros on a row after his 10-run.

Best winner in the quarter-finals was Spaniard Sainz Pardo, 35-20 in 22 against Korean Jeong. Hashas beat another revelation, Argentinian Valentino Oliveto 35-21 in 25/24. Oh and Ibraimov, the later finalists, won against Goncalo Santos 35-29 in 36 and against Nathan Duriez 3-28 in 40, leading to the semi-finals in which Oh won vs Pardo and Ibraimov vs Hashas.

The series of four world championships in Ankara has now produced three Asian champions: Vietnam's Phuong Vinh Bao in the men's, Shin Young Lee in the women's and now Myeong Gyu Oh in the juniors.

The top 12 at the World Junior Championships:

1.  Myeong Gyu Oh 12-1,250-10
2. Amir Ibraimov 10-1,666-7
3. Burak Hashas 8-1,521-15
4. Daniel Sainz Pardo 8-1,085-7
5. Ye Sung Jeong 6-1,250-8
6. Nathan Duriez 6-1,036-5
7. Goncalo Santos 6-0,919-9
8. Valentino Oliveto 4-1,063-8
9. Alptekin Canozkan 2-1,077-7
10. Lukas Mortensen 2-1,049-8
11. Joris van 't Zelfden 2-1,000-10
12. Ubaldo Sanchez 2-0,941-6

The world podium with left to right Amir Ibraimov, the champion Myeong Gyu Oh, Daniel Sainz Pardo and Burak Hashas

The new world's best in the juniors, Myeong Gyu Oh

The great runner up, German Amir Ibraimov, only 15 year of age, the youngest ever on a World podium.