GURI - Therese Klompenhouwer from the Netherlands, the reigning champion and Mee Rea Lee from South Korea will show up in the final match at the World championship three cushion in Guri. The match is scheduled at 16.00. The Dutch defeated triple world champion Orie Hida in the semi finals (30-23 in 19 innings). Mee Rae Lee beat the other Japanese player, Yuko Nishimoto, 30-29 in 21. The classic match between Klompenhouwer and Hida, widely regarded as the two best players in the world, had a flawless start for Therese. ,,I started very strong with 12 in five innings and my opponent couldn't answer in the first part of the match.''
At the break, Klompenhouwer was leading 16-6 in 9 innings. ,,I came back from the stop and missed a few easy balls. And I felt that Orie was getting better.'' The Japanese closed the gap with a run of seven in the fifteenth inning (17-16) but Klompenhouwer immediately responded also with a seven. ,,It was a crucial moment in the match, she assured. The Dutch could consolidate her lead and finished 30-23.
It was her third consecutive victory over Orie Hida. ,,I lost her in the preliminaries in New York by one point, but then defeated her in the semifinals. And here at this World championship, I won by one carom in the preliminaries.''
The young Korean Mee Rae Lee (21) is the opponent Therese Klompenhouwer in the final. She is the revelation in the tournament, playing her first World championship ever. Mee Rae Lee is the number two in Korea after losing a final against Shin Young Lee.
In the semi-finals in Guri, Mee Rae Lee defeated the experienced 40-year-old Japanese Yuko Nishimoto, who was second at the last World championship behind Therese Klompenhouwer. After a balance start (10-10) Yishimoto took the initiative (15-10), then Lee ran out to 18-15. The Japanese could not score in the closing stage, allowing Lee to take the win 30-21 in 29.
Mee Rae Lee, who already has her own fan page, impresses with a wonderful stroke and shows her great focus on her char. It looks like Zen, the Japanese concentration and meditation technique. She says: ,,On my chair, most of all I think about my last miss: how I could have done better. I learned it from my father, who is my coach.''
The Korean lives one hour drive from Seoul, in Bundang and follows a physical development. She realizes that she is the underdog in the match against Therese Klompenhouwer. ,,I think my winning chance is one against ten, but I hope for a miracle, that i twill bet hat one time to win in the final.''
Mee Rae Lee, focused on her chair after a miss