VIERSEN - The life size portrait of Kyung-Roul Kim was the backdrop for the impressive opening ceremony of one of the world's finest tournaments. Before the world championship for national teams got underway, players, officials and spectators took a moment to pay their respects to the Korean player who recently passed away.
Jean Claude Dupont, the UMB president, spoke his opening words and remembered Kyung-Roul Kim as a wonderful sportsman who will stay in our memory. The Korean billiard community said goodbye one day before, to the player who set the tone for the current generation. Many came to his funeral, to say a last goodbye.
The four players who represent Korea on this WC, made a bow before they entered the arena. Kyung-Roul Kim's coach, WooJin Park, received the latest news about Kim's death between 14.00 and 15.00 Korean time.
,,The police first assumed it was a suicide, but after an investigation they have concluded it was an accident when he fell out of his parents apartment.''
,,The investigation showed that one of the windows in the kitchen of the apartment was broken. Kim wanted to fix it,. His parents had warned him it was dangerous, but he tried it anyway when his parents were resting. During the work, he lost his footing and fell from the 20th floor.''
The tribute in the Viersen Festhalle was marked by a minute of silence. The tournament then got underway, with the matches between Sweden and Korea B, and Japan against Germany B. Torbjörn Blomdahl was the first to finish, when he ran eleven and twelve to stay miles ahead of Chi-Yeon Cho: 40-14 in 14. ,,I feel really good already for some weeks'', the Swede said after the match. ,,I don't need so much time to think and to decide. And when you play good, you are a bit lucky: there were many good positions on the table (,,free balls''), so then it's pretty easy to play good.''
Michael Nilsson lost for Sweden against Hyung Kon Kim (40-35 in 26), bringing the score to 1-1 and a 26-points advantage for Sweden. The third team in the group is Austria.
Japan defeated Germany B at two tables: Tatsuo Arai bested Stefan Galla 40-33 in 46, Tokuyuki Tanabe beat Ronny Lindemann 40-35 in 27.
The field in Viersen was reduced to 23 teams after Ecuador withdrew. The UMB and the organization have tried to add a team as replacement, but failed. Netherlands could not send a B-team at this late stage, because Jean Paul de Bruijn and Raimond Burgman had other obligations.
