HEERHUGOWAARD - The reigning champion Therese Klompenhouwer showed her high class on the starting day of the 10th Women's World three cushion Championship. The Dutch lady came through the group matches very smoothly with four match points and 1,250 on average. And she faces Colombian Andrea Cardona in the first round of the knock-outs today (Wednesday). Korean Shin Young Lee comes closest in average (0.926), Korean champion Jieun Han has yet to find her rhythm and feeling, the same for Danish Charlotte Sörensen and Japanes Yuko Nishimoto.
The World championship continues today (Wednesday) without the Turkish champion Arzu Gok, who had been announced with a higher average than Therese, but the Turkish federation had made a mistake in giving up. Arzu Gok is on the UMB list with 1,300 on average. She barely reached 0.300 in two matches and is already eliminated. German champion Katja Titze also had a disappointing start, with no match points and 0.256, the lowest score of the entire field of 24 players.
The tournament continues with the knock-out phase, where the 16 players (numbers 1 and 2 of the eight qualification groups) meet each other. The main competition for Therese Klompenhouwer, the four-time champion, comes from the Netherlands from Karina Jetten and Mirjam Pruim, from Korea with Jieun Han and Shin Young Lee, from Colombia with Johana Sandoval, from Japan with Yuko Nishimoto and from Denmark with Charlotte Sörensen.
Most players were unaccustomed to the equipment and environment on the first day. At times, that resulted in extremely strange matches and scores. For instance, Belgian Jaimie Buelens, the closest player to home with the four Dutch, lost her way in one of her two matches with 13 consecutive misses and 30 zero points innings in total, but suddenly made a run of 9 at the end of her match. She won her first game against Gomez by 25 in 37 innings and the second even in 51 innings. Charlotte Sörensen, the European number two, had a smooth start against Japan's Fukao with 25 in 24 innings, but took 43 innings over her second against Germany's Katja Titze.
Korean Jieun Han was so afraid for a jet lag that she stayed in her room for 15 hours right before the tournament. She won her first game vs Gomez 25-16 in 37 and even took 51 innings over her second against Jaimie Buelens: 25-22 in 51.
Two of the four Dutch ladies, in Klompenhouwer's shadow, got through the first round with prospects for better. Karina Jetten, in an Orange encounter, first beat Daisy Werdekker 25-9 in 26 and then Magali Declunder by one point difference: 25-24 in 41. Mirjam Pruim kept Vietnamese Phung in check (25-18 in 34) and then played a draw against Spain's Estela Cardoso: 25-25 in 37.
The knock-outs today, Wednesday, withe the best 16:
13.00:
Therese Klompenhouwer-Andrea Cardona
Estela Cardoso-Mirjam Pruim
Noriko Fukao-Nhi Hoanguyen Nguyen
Jaimie Buelens-Johana Sandoval
15.00:
Marianne Mortensen-Karina Jetten
Magali Declunder-Jieun Han
Yuko Nishimoto-Shin Young Lee
Irena Michalkova-Charlotte Sörensen
The rankings after the preliminary rounds:
Group A:
1 Therese Klompenhouwer 4-1,250-7
2 Shin Young Lee 2-0.926-5
3 Natascha Al Mamar 0-0.612-2
Group B:
1 Mirjam Pruim 3-0.704-5
2 Estela Cardoso 3-0.609-5
3 Tuong Kien Phung 0-0.455-4
Group C:
1 Charlotte Sörensen 4-0.746-6
2 Noriko Fukao 2-0.555-4
3 Katja Titze 0-0.256-3
Group D:
1 Johana Sandoval 4-0.609-7
2 Irena Michalkova 2-0.437-4
3 Paola Castillo 0-0.404-5
Group E:
1 Jieun Han 4-0.568-5
2 Jaimie Buelens 2-0.500-9
3 Soladad Gomez 0-0.375-3
Group F:
1 Karina Jetten 4-0.746-4
2 Magali Declunder 2-0.628-4
3 Daisy Werdekker 0-0.365-3
Group G:
1 Yuko Nishimoto 4-0.537-3
2 Andrea Cardona 2-0.396-3
3 Jackeline Perez 0-0.372-4
Group H:
1 Nhi Hoanguyen Nguyen 4-0.581-5
2 Marianne Mortensen 2-0.455-4
3 Arzu Gok 0-0.364-4.
Therese Klompenhouwer
Jieun Han
Charlotte Sörensen
Karina Jetten
Yuko Nishimoto
Mirjam Pruim
PICTURES: TON SMILDE