VIERSEN - The Spanish victory against the Germans on the first day of the World Championships for nation teams in Viersen means that Spain has almost certainly qualified for the next round. Dani Sánchez defeated Martin Horn (40-25 in 27) in the first matches of the second session in the tournament, Ruben Legazpi won against Ronny Lindemann, who was two caroms short in his equalizer: 40-38 in 21. In Group D, two of three rounds have been played after the first day. The match between Belgium and Germany is decisive for qualification with the matches Eddy Merckx-Martin Horn and Peter Ceulemans-Ronny Lindemann.
The Belgians were mainly dependent on Eddy Merckx in their first games: Merckx first defeated Dani Sanchez 40-32 in 20 and in the evening matches Peruvian Guido Sacco 40-22 in 25. Peter Ceulemans, second player for the Belgians, lost both his games: against Ruben Legazpi 40-29 in 31 and against Christopher Tevez 40-29 in 23, giving the Belgians two draws in two matches. In this Group D, the Germans won the first match against Peru (Horn-Sacco 40-29 in 33, Lindemann-Tevez 40-39 in 43), but then lost to the Spaniards. Dani Sanchez left Martin Horn behind, Ruben Legazpi beat Ronny Lindemann 40-38, so the Spaniards now lead with three match points out of two games and only have to play Peru on Friday. The Germans and Belgians will meet for the second position in this Group D.
The other three groups only played one session.
For another top favorite, the Netherlands with Dick Jaspers and Raimond Burgman, the start was disappointing. The team lost to strong Vietnam 2-0. The Orange duo, two times world champions in this tournament for nation teams, were felled by Vietnam in a direct encounter. Dick Jaspers made a frantic attempt to stop top player Quyet Chien Tran after the Vietnamese had taken a big lead with a run of 13. At the moment Raimond Burgman was bowing for Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, the number 2 of the penultimate WC in Randers, Dick Jaspers was beaten by a final run by Tran: 40-35 in 20 innings. Burgman lost to Nguyen 40-30 in 24.
The Netherlands and Vietnam are in the group of four with Colombia and France. The Colombians with Pedro Gonzalez and Huberney Cataño beat France with Mikaël Devogelaere and Maxime Panaia 2-0.
The Turkish defending champion, playing this time with Tayfun Tasdemir and Can Capak, had a flawless start against the Czech Republic 2-0. Tasdemir was the best starter in the whole field with a 40-19 victory over Martin Bohac in 13 innings. Can Capak beat Ivo Gazdos 40-37 in 28. In this group, Denmark was the other winner, against Egypt 2-0. Dion Nelin had the better final sprint against Sameh Sidhom: 40-39 in 25.
The Koreans (in Group A with Chang Hoon Seo and Haeng Jik Kim) didn't meet any trouble with Jordan and won the match 2-0. Greece suffered an unexpected 2-0 defeat against Japan, playing with Takao Miyashita and former world champion Ryuuji Umeda. Miyashita defeated Polychronopoulos 40-28 in 28, Ryuuji Umeda won against Kostas Kokkoris 40-20 in 31.
Friday's first session (11.00 West European time) in Group C will be between the winners from the first round (Vietnam and Colombia) and the losers: the Netherlands and France.
The results on the first day:
Group A:
Korea-Jordan 2-0
Chang Hoon Seo-Mashhour Abu Tayeh 40-25 in 41
Haeng Jik Kim-Naser Awwad 40-32 in 36
Greece-Japan 2-0
Nikos Polychronopoulos-Takao Miyashita 28-40 in 28
Kostas Kokkoris-Ryuuji Umeda 20-40 in 31
Standings in Group A after 1 round:
1 Japan 1-2-1.355-6
2 Korea 1-2-1.038-6
3 Greece 1-0-0.813-5
4 Jordan 1-0-0.740-6
Group B:
Turkey-Czech Republic 2-0
Tayfun Tasdemir-Martin Bohac 40-19 in 13
Can Capak-Ivo Gazdos 40-37 in 28
Denmark-Egypt 2-0
Dion Nelin-Sameh Sidhom 40-39 in 25
Jakob Haack Sörensen-Riad Nady 40-24 in 22
Standings in Group B after 1 round:
1 Turkey 1-2-1,951-12
2 Denmark 1-2-1,702-15
3 Czech Republic 1-0-1,365-5
4 Egypt 1-0-1,340-8
Group C:
Vietnam-Netherlands 2-0
Quyet Chien Tran-Dick Jaspers 40-35 in 19 (13)
Duc Anh Chien Nguyen-Raimond Burgman 40-31 in 24
Colombia-France 2-0
Pedro Gonzalez-Mikaël Devogelaere 40-26 in 28
Huberney Cataño-Maxime Panaia 40-21 in 27
Standings in Group C after 1 round:
1 Vietnam 1-2-1,860-13
2 Colombia 1-2-1,454-7
3 Netherlands 1-0-1,534-7
4 France 1-0-0.854-6
Group D:
Belgium-Spain 1-1
Eddy Merckx-Dani Sánchez 40-32 in 20
Peter Ceulemans-Ruben Legazpi 29-40 in 31
Germany-Peru 2-0
Martin Horn-Guido Sacco 40-29 in 33
Ronny Lindemann-Christopher Tevez 40-39 in 43
Second round:
Spain-Germany 2-0
Sánchez-Horn 40-25 in 27/26
Legazpi-Lindemann 40-38 in 21
Belgium-Peru 1-1
Merckx-Sacco 40-22 in 25
Ceulemans-Tevez 29-40 in 23
Standings in Group D after 2 rounds:
1 Spain 2-3-1,535-8
2 Germany 2-2-1,153-6
3 Belgium 2-2-1,393-9
4 Peru 2-1-1.048-7
Former world champion Ryuuji Umeda, back on the international stage
Dion Nelin, promising win over Egypt, beating Sameh Sidhom 40-39