SEOCHEON - The young Korean HaengJik Kim played a fantastic match in a tournament in Seocheon (Korea) today. The former, four times junior world champion defeated his countryman Jeong-Whan Cho 35-7 in five innings. The average of 7.000 to 35 caroms is a record in South Korea.
The tournament (currently live on Kozoom) is seen by the Koreans as a preparation for the World championship which is played in two weeks in South Korea.
Haeng Jik Kim, who is not even selected in the Korean team for the World championship in his country, played these scores in his world class match:
8-3-11-10-3
The young talent suffered a brain hemorrhage last year and has recovered well. He shows that he’s back on his high level already for a few months, however he was eliminated in his next match by Young Seob Kim 40-30. ,,He is a very good player, but I played really bad'', he commented.
His opponent is a player in the middle of the ranking with 600 Korean players.
The host country Korea is starting at the World championship with eight players, of whom at least four players make serious chances for the first Korean world title in three cushion in history.
Woojin Park, who lives in Mannheim, is an insider in the Korean top billiards and a friend with the top players. He told with Kozoom in an interview about the organization and the importance of the World title for Korea.
Kozoom: What do you think: we get to see the first Korean world champion in the history of three-cushion this year?oojin Park: That will not be an easy mission, of course, but we definitely expect that it can happen.
Kozoom: In the top of the UMB ranking there are five Korean players, making that Korea is in the width the strongest country in the world. Which players get wild cards for the World Cup?
Woojin Park: From the Asian front (ACBC) Chi Yeon Cho, the Korean wildcards go to Jung Han Heo and Min Seo Hyun.
Kozoom: It's the first time that the World championship is played in Korea. How does the organization looks like, how many people are involved?
Woojin Park: There were some problems with the location, that slightly delayed the preparatory, but now everything is alright now, we’re well prepared. The exact number of people involved, I can’t say, but there are certainly more than a hundred people working in the organization.
Kozoom: Korean billiard sport has made an incredible development in the last ten to fifteen years. How important is it for the country to win the world title three cushion?
Woojin Park: That's our mission, our main goal! The world title is very important for all countries. But Korea is the biggest country with the largest market in terms of carom billiards. We have so many world class players, but no champion. We want to change that in this year’s tournament.
Kozoom: How is the preparation of the Korean players? As we can see live on Kozoom these days, currently there is a major tournament, the Seocheon Hansan Mosi. And Sung Won Choi will show up in the Lausanne Billard Masters next week. What about the other participants?
Woojin Park: This weekend, indeed, we play in Seocheon a major tournament, the final is on Sunday. It is an important tournament and also a good preparation for the World championship. The focus of all our top players is at the World championship.
Woojin Park (center) during an interview with Kozoom Sung Won Choi.
The Korean players who have a shot at the world title in a row:
Sung Won Choi (37 years old): World ranking: 5. World Cup this year: 2nd place. Second on 2010 World championship behind Eddy Merckx.
Kyung-Roul Kim (34): Worldranking 8. World Cup winner in 2010.
Dong Koong Kang: World ranking: 9. World Cup winner in 2013.
Jae Ho Cho: World ranking 10. World Cup winner in 2014.
Choong Bok Lee: World ranking: 17. 6th at World championships in 2012.
Chi Yeon Cho; World ranking: 110. Debut at the World championship in 2014.
Jung Han Heo. World ranking: 23. 11th at World championships in 2011 and 2013.
Min Seo Hyun. 141. World championship debut in 2014.
The Korean tournament in Seocheon is broadcast live on Kozoom.