BOGOTA – The World Cup in Bogóta is where he feels at home after winning his first major event there last year. Trần Thanh Lực, 36-years-old, stands proudly on the podium again at the first World Cup this year in the Colombian country. He is ranked number 11 and is the outsider, facing strong opponents this Sunday: Myung Woo Cho, Tayfun Tasdemir, and Martin Horn. This lesser-known Trần could pull off another upset, just like with his previous success. Back then, he defeated Dick Jaspers in the semi-final, this Saturday evening, he did the same in the quarter-finals. The final podium will be determined by the semi-finals between Tayfun Tasdemir and Myung Woo Cho, and between Trần Thanh Lực and Martin Horn. Three players from the top ten remain for that golden race; Trần is the number eleven.
Martin Horn has made a strong impression so far with two wins against Caudron. This Saturday evening, the German passed Sameh Sidhom, whom he left behind fairly quickly at 35-20 and even 37-28, but in his usual fighting mode, Sidhom came back to 38-34 and, after a series of misses by Horn, to 39-39. The finish, however, belonged to the German, just like Horn against Caudron. TheGerman now finished with 6 and 4 for 50-40 in 29/28.
Jaspers and Tran had a slow start at 7-6 in 8. The Dutchman got an initial boost with 10, but it was to level at 16-16. The Vietnamese player ran away with 8 (26-25), Jaspers responded with 7 (40-36 for the Dutchman), and the finish belonged to Tran again, who went to victory with 6, 0, 2, and 4, whereas Jaspers recorded only one 2 and four zeros in the last five innings: 50-48 in 33.
The Turkish clash between Tasdemir and Berkay was a battle of titans, with Tasdemir as the best finisher after taking a substantial lead with 12 in the 13th inning (27-18). Karakurt's story slowly fizzled out with small attacks of 4 and 6, not enough to prevent Tasdemir from winning with his closing run of 8: 50-41 in 31/30.
Myung Woo Cho, the ever-feared number 1 of the rankings, eliminated the second Vietnamese player from the tournament. Hong Chiem Thai, a promising young player, was quickly put under pressure with 5, 5, and 8, making a 19-3 lead in 5. It was the lead-up to a regular win for the Korean, who faced virtually no further resistance: 50-30 in 26/25.
The semi-finals are on Sunday at 11:00 and 13:30 in Colombia (18:00 and 20:30 in Western Europe):
Myung Woo Cho-Tayfun Tasdemir
Trần Thanh Lực-Martin Horn.
Tayfun Tasdemir after his win over Karakurt
Martin Horn was the better of Sidhom
Myung Woo Cho, the number 1 plays Tasdemir in the semi finals
Matches with the top 16
The last winner in the long fights was Dick Jaspers; the most exciting match on early Colombian Saturday was between Tayfun Tasdemir and Marco Zanetti. For the eight quarter-final spots, two Turks and two Vietnamese remained: Berkay Karakurt and Tayfun Tasdemir for Turkey, Thanh Luc Tran and Hong Chiem Thai. Furthermore, a Dutchman, a German, an Egyptian, and a Korean are still battling for the podium spots on Sunday. Saturday evening promised to be another long fight for a place in the top four.
Martin Horn has pulled off a masterpiece over the two days so far. The German defeated Frédéric Caudron twice in two matches, a rarity for the Belgian world champion. Earlier this Saturday, the Belgians also lost Eddy Merckx due to a loss against Berkay Karakurt. Dick Jaspers closed the ranks of eight with a hard-fought and long match against Wan Young Choi.
Marco Zanetti and Tayfun Tasdemir delivered a magnificent match with fluctuating fortunes in the final stages. Tasdemir kept his opponent under control for a long time, but at 40-14, Zanetti suddenly climbed out of a slump and nearly closed the gap with 12 (30-26). Tasdemir was the first to see the finish line again at 45-39, while Zanetti summoned his tremendous fighting spirit with a run of 7 for a 48-45 lead. However, the last word belonged to Tasdemir with 3 and 2 for 50-48.
The other sensational match was delivered by Martin Horn, who had also beaten Caudron on the first day. Once again, in this knockout battle, the German was almost uncatchable in the opening phase, leading 19-4 in 6 innings. A phase with six zeros in 8 innings gave Caudron chances to come back, but the Belgian played below his capabilities for a long time. Horn led 40-30 in 25 innings when the match suddenly sprang to life. Caudron made a 10 for 40-40 in the score. He seemed to be on fire, but nothing could be further from the truth. Caudron finished the match with 8 zeros and showed Horn the way to the exit: 50-40 in 34/33.
Berkay Karakurt was the best winner in the eight matches, defeating Eddy Merckx 50-42 in 22/21. Luis Martinez, the last of the Colombians, saw his adventure come to an end with a loss to Myung Woo Cho 50-29 in 25/24. Sameh Sidhom dominated the entire match against Glenn Hofman, two contemporaries from their youth. The Egyptian held the upper hand; the Dutchman fought back with small counterattacks but could not really threaten Sidhom: 50-39 in 28 innings.
Than Luc Tran, last year's winner in Bogota, had Birol Uymaz in his grip (50-32 in 24), while Hong Chiem Thai, the other Vietnamese player, was much stronger than Jérémy Bury: 50-21 in 27/26.
The first two quarterfinals today, Saturday, at 5:00 PM in Colombia, midnight in Western Europe:
Tasdemir-Karakurt
Cho-Thai
7:30 PM in Colombia, 2:30 AM in the Western European night:
Jaspers-TL Tran
Horn-Sidhom