World ChampionshipBordeaux (France)

Three seasoned players and one young star for World-gold

11/19/2016

Published by frits bakker

Haeng-Jik Kim after his victory over Marco Zanetti

BORDEAUX - Two former world champions, one former junior world champion and one outsider are in the semifinals of the World Championship tomorrow (Saturday), in the Palais des Congrès in Bordeaux. The world ranking will have a new nr. 1, and the upcoming semifinals and final will further shift the order. Torbjörn Blomdahl is no longer world champion, and he has also lost the nr. 1 position. His place will be taken by Frédéric Caudron, who was eliminated in the group stage in Bordeaux. did not lose as many points as Blomdahl, and thus had the top spot handed to him.

Of the four players who will share the spotlight on the final day, Dani Sánchez (42) has the best palmares. The Spaniard won the world title three times already, the last time in 2010 in Sluiskil (Netherlands). Haeng-Jik Kim (24) for many years was the most promising young player in global 3-cushion. The Korean won no fewer than four world junior titles, three of those consecutively, in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After his two years of military service, he won the Asian confederational title and showed he was back at the very top.

Semih Sayginer (52) has one world title to his name, won in Valladolid in 2003. The Turkish sultan, highly regarded for his top was longer and more difficult then he and his fans had foreseen. Eddy Leppens (46) was a World championship finalist once, in 2010 in Sluiskil, where he lost to Dani Sánchez. The Belgian has tried hard to reach a top-12 position for years, but in vain. His technical ability still makes him one of the candidates for this year's title.

The WC audience was treated to four matches on the penultimate evening, and in the first of those, Haeng-Jik Kim managed to fend off the experienced Marco Zanetti in the final inningst. The Korean finished at 40-34, Zanetti had to score six points in the equalizer but missed after four: 40-38 in 24. Semih Sayginer and Jérôme Barbeillon had a long and painstaking battle, decided after no less than 40 innings in the advantage of Sayginer (40-34).

The Frenchman's great week ended, new doors opened for Sayginer. ,,I am especially pleased that I can now also win poor matches.''

Dani Sánchez created an early gap in his match against Jae-Ho Cho, when he had a 24-7 lead after 11 innings. The Spaniard a few innings more to wrap it up then he would have liked, but it ended 40-35 in 25 and Dani must now be considered top favorite for the world gold.

For Eddy Leppens, the last remaining Belgian in the tournament, this WC gets better every day. He is used to winning events in his home country, and now - after a long drought - he is again close to international success. He beat Nikos Polychronopoulos, the feared manufacturer of high runs, when he himself ran a twelve early in the match, taking a 22-8 lead. The Greek a nine in the 23d inning to get back to 31-31, but in the closing innings he did not have the cool that Leppens demonstrated: 40-37 in 30.

The semifinals on Saturday: 13.00: Semih Sayginer-Haeng-Jik Kim 15.00: Dani Sánchez-Eddy Leppens.