HURGHADA/EL GOUNA – The highly talented, 18-year Myung Woo Cho, has recorded the first huge success in his young career in billiard. In a final field with three Korean players and one Spaniard, at the Junior World championship three cushion in Hurghada, Egypt, the funny little guy took the title in a battle with his country man Jung-Ju Shin. He was the very best over three days and surely was launched as a champion for the future.
The Korean players dominated once again on the global stage. The world championship for junior players was won four times by Haeng Jik Kim in recent history, his younger brother Tae-Kwan Kim held the trophy last year and the new champion from the land of 50 million is called Myung-Woo Cho, a cheerful, fellow with enough talent to win the world title one day.
The supremacy of the young Koreans is even better visible in the statistics: last year there were three Koreans on the podium, with just Frenchman Adrien Tachoire as outsider. This year, again three Koreans dominated the event, with Spaniard Andres Carrion as the intruder.
The Koreans are claiming the future of 3-cushion, but the European heavyweights Caudron, Sánchez, Jaspers, Blomdahl, Merckx and Zanetti refuse to give up their place as kings of the hill. They still have a stronghold on the World Cups and the man’s World championship. Spanish junior coach Jose Maria Quetglas gave his analysis of the global situation with regard to young players, and said that the iron discipline and willingness to practice long hours are the main reason for the Koreans leading role.
Myung-Woo Cho has a brilliant, technical game. He bows in apology after a lucky shot, and taps his cue in appreciation when his opponent makes a difficult point. He is the champion of long practice hours, so he told after his place in the semi-final of the Guri World Cup. Eight to ten hours a day he spends, studying positions and learning systems, all in his dad's billiard room. His opponent in the final match, Jung-Ju Shin, has the same Spartan regime, unthinkable in other parts of the world.
Myung-Woo Cho missed out on the gold medal two years ago when Adrien Tachoire won, and did not play to his best ability last year. He was the undisputed favorite this year, and came through with flying colours. Cho stood proudly at the highest step of the podium, representing his country, and he was overjoyed when the national anthems of Korea and Egypt were played in the arena of the Mövenpick hotel.
On the final day, Cho stood strong as he first won his semifinal against Andres Carrion (35-22 in 22 innings), then the final against his last competitor, Jung-Ju Shin, 35-29 in 21 (1.666/1.381).
Of the European contenders, Spanish champion Andres Carrion was the best, reaching the semi-finals when he beat last year’s champion Tae-Kwan Kim. Tom Löwe from Germany made it to the last eight, as did Carlos Anguita. Ahmed Hatem was the only Egyptian player to survive the qualifications. The two players from South America, Christoper Ramirez, Caro Nelson and Christian Sanchez did not qualify from the groups.
Semi-finals:
Andres Carrion-Myung-Woo Cho 22-35 in 22
The last European disappears from the stage in the semifinals of the tournament, because his good start against Myung Woo Cho is not continued. Andres Carrion remains in the shadow of his opponent after a run of eight in the sixth inning, however the Korean dictated the match from start to finish. It seems to come to a thrilling final, 22-18 at the break. At the end of the game, only the Korean scored regularly. He finishes with five, the final score is 35-22, the averages 1.591/1.000.
Jiseung Han-Jung-Ju Shin 33-35 in 31
The Korean battle is in balance until 16-15 in 13. Jiseung Han then attacks for a final offensive. Jung-Ju Shin misses strikingly similar triangles and seems to give up under pressure. When he is almost ten points down, Shin puts up the fight again. He closes the gap to his opponent, who now suddenly looses his way. Shin crowns his comeback in the match with a 35-33 win. The averages: 1.129/1.064.
Final ranking:
1 Myung-Woo Cho (Korea) 12-1.276-7
2 Jung-Ju Shin (Korea) 10-1.270-7
3 Jiseung Han (Korea) 8-1.051-7
3 Andres Carrion (Spanje) 6-0.879-8
5 Tae-Kwan Kim (Korea) 5-0.973-9
6 Tom Löwe (Duitsland) 4-0.685-6
7 Carlos Anguita (Spanje) 3-0.900-5
8 Ahmed Hatem (Egypte) 2-0.658-3