World Cup run-up for Blomdahl, Kim and Bury

BOGÓTA - The second last qualifier in the World Cup in Bogóta ended in the European night with 10 European group winners out of a total of 16. Turkish ex-PBA player Birol Uymaz was Number 1 in that ranking with 4 match points and 1.794 ahead of two Koreans, Ja In Kang and Dohuyn Kim, Frenchman Pierre Soumagne and Dutchman Huub Wilkowski. Two Colombian home players, Jose Juan Garcia and Mauricio Gutierrez, survived that round leading to the final qualifier. Today, Thursday, famous names like Torbjörn Blomdahl, Haeng Jik Kim and Jérémy Bury step into the Bogóta arena. Three stars from World Cup history are looking to get back to the top of the rankings.

The run-up to the main tournament guarantees a host of attractive matches, for the Dutch, including Glenn Hofman against Jean Paul de Bruijn and Jeffrey Jorissen against Huub Wilkowski. Torbjörn Blomdahl meets two Turks in his group, Nick Polychronopoulos plays with Jose Juan Garcia and Sam van Etten. Roland Forthomme is paired with Birol Uymaz and Gökhan Salman. Peter Ceulemans comes up against Spaniard Carlos Crespo, who was able to survive three rounds with skill.

The third day of this World Cup was among other things the end for Ramon Rodriguez, who made a bid in vain for a come-back on the World Cup stage: the Peruvian finished third in the group with Mikaël Devogelaere and Gerhard Kostistanski with an under-1 average. Two young Frenchmen, Maxime Panaia and Gwendal Maréchal, went out against Venezuelan Villanueva with averages around 1. Pierre Soumagne (1.489) defeated Ronny Lindemann and Raymon Groot, Korean Ja In Kang sent Hugo Patiño (0.851) home without a chance and Birol Uymaz was ruthless to first-day winner Christian Hernandez (40-10 in 17).

The Ibraimov brothers, two cheerful guys with plenty of ambition, were eliminated by two strong opponents: Ali to Jose Juan Garcia (25-35 in 23), Amir to Huub Wilkowski (32-35 in 31). The best performance was for Birol Uymaz with 40 in 17, the highest run for Jose Miguel Soares with 11, the Portuguese however finished third behind two Turks: Muharrem Peker and Serdal Bas.

The groups for the final qualifier on Thursday:

Group A: Berkay Karakurt, Tarik Yavuz, Mikaël Devogelaere

Group B: Aziz Kilicaslan, Muammef Rahmet, Torbjörn Blomdahl

Group C: Mauricio Gutierrez, Arnim Kahofer, Haeng Jik Kim

Group D: Muharrem Peker, Carlos Crespo, Peter Ceulemans

Group E: Turgay Orak, William Villanueva, Jérémy Bury

Group F: Glenn Hofman, Jean Paul de Bruijn, Sergio Jimenez

Group G: Sam van Etten, Jose Juan Garcia, Nick Polychronopoulos

Group H: Jeffrey Jorissen, Huub Wilkowski, Ruben Legazpi

Group I: Myeong Jong Cha, Bong Joo Hwang, Pierre Soumagne

Group J: Rui Manuel Costa, Dohyn Kim, Duc Minh Tran

Group K: Chang Hoon Seo, Ja In Kang, Omer Karakurt

Group L: Gökhan Salman, Birol Uymaz, Roland Forthomme. 

The group winners on Wednesday:

1 Birol Uymaz 4-1,794-9

2 Ja In Kang 4 -1,627-10

3 Doyhun Kim 4 - 1,489-8

4 Pierre Soumagne 4 - 1,489-7

5 Huub Wilkowski 4 - 1,372-5

6 Jose Juan Garcia 4 - 1,346-7

7 Sergio Jimenez 4 - 1,250-6

8 William Villanueva 4 - 1,186-6

9 Carlos Crespo 4 - 1,166-5

10 Arnim Kahofer 4 - 1,129-8

11 Muammer Rahmet 4 - 1,029-8

12 Tarik Yavuz 3 - 1,555-5

13 Mikael Devogelaere 3 - 1,228-6

Aziz Kilicaslan 2 - 1,048-5

15 Mauricio Gutierrez 2 - 1,015-5

16 Muharrem Peker 2 - 0.967-5.

Birol Uymaz, the day winner on Wednesday

Jose Juan Garcia, one of two Colombians to survive

The two Ibraimov brothers, Ali and Amir, couldn't survive on third day

Carlos Crespo from Spain survived all days so far