SEOUL - The 26-year-old Vietnamese Phuong Vinh Bao, whose father also started in the World Cup in Seoul, was the only foreigner in the top five Korean players on the second day. Jin Youl Kim finished as the best day winner with 4 match points and 2.222 on average followed by Phuong Vinh Bao with 4-1.666-10, really an excellent score. The Vietnamese is certainly no stranger to his country. He won a major tournament in Nha Trang just before the World Cup. His father Tanh Phuong Bao was eliminated on the first qualification day. Burak Hashas, the huge, 16-year-old Turkish talent, was the best loser on the second day and may return for the third day in this Seoul World Cup.
The Vietnamese are strongly represented with 16 players in the Seoul World Cup, where Quyet Chien Tran (nr. 4 on the world ranking list) and Duc Anh Chien (nr. 17) are the best known. Phuong Vinh Bao shone on the second day with victories over two Koreans: 30 in 9 (3.333) and in 27 innings. Therefore, he was one of the better players with Jin Youl Kim, who won his two games in 17 and in 10 innings. Tomorrow, Wednesday, Bao will start in his group against Frenchman Kevin Vasseur and later against German Cengiz Karaca.
Two Turks, Muammer Rahmet (4-1.132-9) and Volkan Goksu (4-1.090-5) and Colombian Arley Castrillon (2-1.016-7) also came through the second day as group winners, the same as Korean lady Jieun Han, known as one of Therese Klompenhouwer's rivals in the women's field. The young Turk Burak Hashas made his debut with a superb performance, but he came up in his first match against a Korean who has been away from the international stage for a while. The name Chi Yeon Cho, however, is very known, with a second place in the Asian Championship in 2015 following Haeng Jik Kim and a place in the Korean team for the World nation Team Championship in Viersen.
This Chi Yeon Cho is back in the World Cup cycle and started against Burak Hashas with a 30-24 victory in 14 innings. Dutchman Joey de Kok had the misfortune to be in the same group with these two players and could already forget qualification after losing to Hashas 30-18 in 16 innings. The Dutchman's second appearance, against Cho, did not yield any winning chances either. The young Turk had the second best average of the day with 1.800, Cho finished with 1.363, De Kok 0.934. Jieun Han won her group with a Korean and a Japanese player with two match points, but a slightly better average than the Korean Jung Sub Kim (0.876 against 0.854).
Two young Dutchmen, Joris van 't Zelfden and Joey de Kok, soon disappeared from the tournament without a win. The other three of a group of five young talents (see picture) as well as Burak Hashas will enter the World Cup on Wednesday. The Turkish youngster meets there Jieun Han, the Korean lady and the Vietnamese Hong Chiem Thai. Sam van Etten is facing a dangerous Turkish outsider, Turgay Orak and Korean Tae Hee Lee. Alessio D'Agata faces the seasoned Austrian Gerhard Kostistansky and Colombian Arley Castrillon. Nikolaus Kogelbauer had a draw against Ji Hun Ahn, a rather erratic Korean and against Hannuri Kim. This Wednesday will also be the day of the meeting between Turkish brothers Omer and Berkay Karakurt. Frenchman Gwendal Maréchal starts his mission against Jin Youl Kim, the winner of the second qualification day and against Claus Maurer.
Therese Klompenhouwer, the women's world champion, is getting ready to meet two Koreans: Bong Joo Hwang and Seong Hun Kim. Ahmet Alp meets German Lukas Stamm and Korean Min Suk Kim, Wesley de Jaeger is showing up against strong Ja In Kang and Jae Moon Kim, Volkan Cetin against Myeong Jong Cha and Chi Yeon Cho and Dustin Jäschke against Mehmet Goren and Jun Hyuk Son.
The ranking on the second qualifying day:
1 Jin Youl Kim 4-2,222-8
2 Phuong Vinh Bao 4-1,666-10
3 Sung Ho Park 4-1,538-8
4 Chi Yeon Cho 4-1,363-8
5 Jun Hyuk Son 4-1,224-8
6 Min Suk Kim 4-1,224-7
7 Muammer Rahmet 4-1,132-9
8 Seong Hun Kim 4-1,132-7
9 Tae Hee Lee 4-1,111-5
10 Volkan Goksu 4-1,090-5
11 Tae Hyeong Na 4-1,034-7
12 Hannuri Kim 3-0.909-6
13 Kyung Baeg Kim 2-1.617-6
14 Arley Carillon 2-1.018-7
15 Jae Moon Kim 2-1.018-4
16 Jieun Han 2-0.876-5.
Vietnamese player Phuong Vinh Bao was the winner of Vietnamese event just before the World Cup in Seoul
Five European talents in Seoul: left to right Nikolaus Kogelbauer, Joey de Kok, Joris van 't Zelfden, Sam van Etten and Alessio D'Agata. Three of them, Kogelbauer, Van Etten and D'Agata enter the World Cup on Wednesday