WONJU - The individual World Grand Prix in Wonju started this Monday with 48 players divided into six groups of eight players. Ruben Legazpi was the best starter in his group with a match against young Italian Alessio D'Agata, 2-0 in sets with a 45-6 score in 10 innings: 4,500 on average for the Spaniard, 0.600 for his opponent. The four unbeaten leaders with two wins (4 match points) after the first day of play are Torbjörn Blomdahl (2.333, run 8), Tayfun Tasdemir (2.071, run 8), Dick Jaspers (2.000, run 10) and Marco Zanetti (1.710, run 7). Most of 48 participants played only one game on the first day. The preliminary rounds with the six groups (eight players per group) count 168 matches, over 2 set winst with the possibility of a draw. The sets last 20 minutes: the player with the most points wins the set.
The best five players in each group of eight advance to the next round after the preliminary rounds played at six match tables. This pre rounds are followed by the next session of matches with six groups of five players. From those, the numbers one and two and the top four numbers three will be qualified. From then on, 16 players move on to the next leg with 'Double elimination', that is with winner and loser rounds until the final.
Dick Jaspers won his matches in Group A against Kwang Hyun Kim 9-9 in 6, 21-1 in 5 and 11-11 in 6, for Jaspers 2.411 on average. The Dutchman also played his second match later in the day, which he won 2-1 against Ga Yeon Yang and 1.720 on average. Jun Tae Kim is second in this group with 1 match won. Myung Woo Cho played a draw against Bong Joo Hwang.
Korean Sung Won Choi was the best starter in Group B, a 2-0 win against Jin Youl Kim: 2-0, 3.166 on average. Nikos Polychronopoulos won his first match against Jung Hee Lee. Dani Sánchez made two appearances: the Spanish number 1 first lost to Jung Hee Lee 36-44 and won his second match against Nhi Hoangyen Nguyen 2-0, 2.800.
In Group C, Tayfun Tasdemir won his first two games against Wan Young Choi (2-0, 3.454) and Noriko Fukao (2-0, 1.176). In this group, Dutchman Sam van Etten started with a win over Jose Juan Garcia, the former junior world champion from Colombia: Van Etten won 12-10 (7), l7-7 (12) and 9-8 (11). Young Turk Burak Hashas won 2-0 against his routined compatriot Murat Naci Coklu. Jung Han Heo won one match by an outstanding score against Wan Young Choi: 2-0. 3.083 average.
In Group D, Torbjörn Blomdahl is the leader with two wins against Dong Ryong Kim 2-0 and 2.400 and against Mujde Karakasli 2-0 and 2.266. Blomdahl leads with 2.333 out of two matches ahead of Myeong Jong Cha with one win and 1.346. Haeng Jik Kim and Choong Bok Lee are the main competitors for Blomdahl.
Ruben Legazpi's flashy start took center stage inGroup E. The Spaniard was much stronger than D'Agata at 21-4 and 24-2, but particularly impressed with his superb average, 4,500. Quyet Chien Tran is the number two, Sameh Sidhom is on three, but won and lost one match. Young Egyptian Mahmoud Ayman is still undefeated with one match won. He defeated Dion Nelin 2-1 in sets.
Marco Zanetti, Eddy Merckx, Duc Anh Chien Nguyen and Pedro Gonzalez are the four contenders in Group F, where Therese Klompenhouwer is attempting to get into the first five. Zanetti defeated Klompenhouwer in the first game for the group: 17-7 in 8, 12-9 in 8 (averages 1.812/1.066). Zanetti leads with two wins after the first day ahead of Nguyen. Eddy Merckx had a false start with a loss against Su Yeong Park: 1-2, averages 1.578 for Merckx, 1.700 for his opponent.
The rankings on top of the six pools after the first day:
Group A:
1 Dick Jaspers 2-4-2,000-10
2 Jun Tae Kim 1-2-1,000-5
3 Bong Joo Hwang 1-1-1,714-5
4 TTT Nguyen 1-1-1,260-4
5 Pedro Piedrabuena 1-1-1,272-11
6 Myung Woo Cho 1-1-1,619-5
Dick Jaspers leader with two wins
Group B:
1 Sung Won Choi 1-2-3.166-7
2 Nikos Polychronopoulos 1-2-1.684-6
3 Dani Sánchez 2-2-2.228-12
4 Chang Hoon Seo 1-2-1.074-5
5 Jung Hee Lee 2-2-1.550-8
Group C:
1 Tayfun Tasdemir 2-4-2.071-8
2 Jung Han Heo 1-2-3.083-11
3 Burak Hashas 1-2-2.000-11
4 Sam van Etten 1-2-0.903-10
5 JJ Garcia 1-0-0.833-7
Tayfun Tasdemir, leading ahead of Jung Han Heo and Burak Hashas
Sam van Etten started with a win over JJ Garcia
Group D:
1 Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-4-2.333-8
2 Myeong Jong Cha 1-2-1.346-4
3 Haeng Jik Kim 1-2-1.782-10
4 Choong Bok Lee 1-2-1.714-10
5 Takao Miyashita 1-0-1.571-7
Torbjörn Blomdahl continues his great form
Group E:
1 Ruben Legazpi 1-2-4.500-9
2 Quyet Chien Tran 1-2-1.923-12
3 Sameh Sidhom 2-2-1.428-8
4 Mahmoud Ayman 1-2-1.800-6
5 Hyung Kon Kim 2-2-1.108-5
Group F:
1 Marco Zanetti 2-4-1.710-7
2 Duc Anh Chien Nguyen 1-2-2.083-12
3 Pedro Gonzalez 1-2-1.352-6
4 Su Yeon Park 2-2-1.243-8
5 Eddy Merckx 1-0-1.578-7
8 Therese Klompenhouwer 1-0-1.066-5.