GURI - Therese Klompenhouwer, the multiple European champion from Nijkerk, usually looks calm at the table, but on the inside there may still be turmoil. In Guri, Korea she may have played the strangest match of her career this afternoon.
Having started off with a simple victory oveer Fin Soinisalo (30–15 in 21), she had to finish the work against a supposedly stronger player from Vietnam: Nguyen Duc Anh Chien. She was out of the blocks like a rocket: after only eight innings the score was 25-3, and it looked like a formality.
But then the balls rolled very awkward for a few innings, and Klompenhouwer lost her focus and confidence. The Vietnamese player started to make small runs, and the Dutch champion from Nijkerk produced an embarrassing string of zeroes. She escaped, but only just: 30-25 in 31, which she later referred to as a 'a total blackout'. It had no consequences, she still averaged a nice 1.153, remained undefeated in her flight and advances to the next round.
Barry van Beers arrived in Guri well in time, but the same thing could not be said about his suitcase. He had to buy a new set of clothes in a hurry, but they fit well enough for him to comfortably win his flight: 30-23 in 29 against Aguilar and 30-13 in 15 against Takehiro.
The third Dutchman in the pre-qualification was less successful. Dave Christiani lost his opening match against Lim Tae Soo 30-25 in 23, and his later win over Hideaki Kobayashi (son of former world champion Nabuaki Kobayashi) could not keep him in the tournament.
He was not the only casualty on day three: Michael Nilsson for example. The man who was victorious in Viersen so often (with Torbjörn Blomdahl) could not make an impression this time, against Vietnamese Ma Minh Cam and Korean Sin Nam Ho. Apostolos Balogiannis was the surprising winner of a flight with former Panamerican champion Javier Teran and Kim Young Seob from Korea, who had impressed a day earlier. Teran’s countryman Luis Aveiga also did not make it, Jang Nam Guk winning that flight.
The best averages of the day were for Jang Nam Guk and Lee Tae Hyun, both 1.714. Veteran Tatsuo Arai, who once made it to the professional ranks in the BWA-era, did well with a match of 30 in 11 and an average of 1.578. The other winners: Ly The Vinh (1.538), Sin Nam Ho (1.395), Hwang Hyung Bum (1.363), Barry van Beers (1.363), Lim Tae Soo (1.224), Birol Uymaz (1.224), Therese Klompenhouwer (1.153), Apostolos Balogiannis (1.111) and Yusuke Mori (1.000).
Tomorrow at 10.00 Korean time the next round starts. Klompenhouwer will take on Ruben Legazpi from Spain, Barry van Beers will play Duong Anh Vu from Vietnam. Two other Dutch players, Glenn Hofman and Jean Paul de Bruin, will face each other in that round.