CARTAGENA – The Spanish city of Cartagena, in the Murcia region, will welcome the women's tournament for the 13th three-cushion World Championships in two weeks, and the under-22 juniors for the 16th World Championships. Denmark's Charlotte Sörensen (42) and Turkey's Seymen Ozbas (20) are the defending champions. The women's tournament and the World Junior Championships are played with 24 participants. The Colombians are best represented at the Women's Championships with four players, the Koreans have five players in the juniors. The women's tournament is held from September 23rd to 25th, the juniors will play from September 26th to 28th.
Last year in Blois, Charlotte Sörensen succeeded Korea's Shin Young Lee, who moved to the PBA soon after her world title. For Therese Klompenhouwer, holder of five world titles, it has now been two tournaments since her last world title. The women's world champion's prize has been increased to €10,000 since last year.
Charlotte Sörensen, Therese Klompenhouwer, Nana Petersen, Guzin Mujde Karakasli, and Jaimie Buelens lead the field, which has seen the departure of several older players, such as Gülsen Degener, Danielle le Bruyn, Ireana Michalkova, Marianne Mortensen, and Helga Mitterböck. The new generation of Europeans includes Nana Petersen, Litsa Mavridoglou, and Jaimie Buelens. The Colombian team will be joined by Johanna Sandoval, Claudia Lalinde, Clauia Chacon, and Gisell Monroy.
The Asian team will be eagerly awaited, featuring Koreans Ha Eun Kim, who also proved a major talent in Blois last year, Bo Mi Choi, and Japanese Yuko Nishimoto, Noriko Fukao, and Ayaka Miyashita. Spain's Ana Juarez received a wildcard from the organizers.
The junior field features two Spaniards among the contenders, Marcos Morales and Daniel Sainz Pardo, who will be attempting to dethrone Seymen Ozbas. Turkey will also be represented at the World Championships by Ataberk Cerkez. At 17, German Amir Ibraimov is once again a key contender for the podium, the same as Frenchman Tangui Duriez. Luca Philipoom will be competing for the Netherlands, and Toon Bollansee plays for the Belgians.
The Koreans are sending a strong delegation to the World Championships, including Do Hyeon Kim (17), a well-known World Cup player. Hyeon Woo Kim is a younger player in the tournament, and 15-year-old Hyeon Woo Kim is the youngest. The oldest players at this World Cup are Luis Pinto of Portugal and Sang Uk Jung of Korea. The wildcard goes to Arturo Zotov of Spain.
Junior participants:
Seymen Ozbas (Turkey)
Daniel Sainz Pardo (Spain)
Marcos Morales (Spain)
Ataberk Cerkez (Turkey)
Luis Pintio (Portugal)
Amir Ibraimov (Germany)
Luca Philipoom (Netherlands)
Toon Bollansee (Belgium)
Tangui Duriez (France)
Nicolas Cermak (Czech Republic)
Paolo Turla (Italy)
Valentino Oliveto (Argentina)
Jorge Insignares (Colombia)
Jose Martinez (Colombia)
Ubaldo Sanchez (Mexico)
Do Hyeon Kim (Korea)
Jun Hyuk Son (Korea)
Hyeon Woo Kim (Korea)
Sang Uk Jung (Korea)
Gyu Seung Lee (Korea)
Ryusel Miyamoto (Japan)
Muhaned Khaled (Egypt)
Fady Meawad (Egypt)
Arturo Zotov (Spain)
Women's participants:
Charlotte Sörensen (Denmark)
Nana Petersen (Denmark)
Therese Klompenhouwer (Netherlands)
Guzin Mujde Karakasli (Turkey)
Jaimie Buelens (Belgium)
Steffi Tram (Germany)
Litsa Mavridoglou (Greece)
Magali Declunder (France)
Estela Cardoso (Spain)
Veronika Krausova (Czech Republic)
Karina Jetten (Netherlands)
Johanna Sandoval (Colombia)
Claudia Lalinde (Colombia)
Claudia Chacon (Colombia)
Gisell Monroy (Colombia)
Jackeline Perez (Peru)
Ha Eun Kim (Korea)
Bo Mi Choi (Korea)
Yuko Nishimoto (Japan)
Noriko Fukao (Japan)
Ayaka Miyashita (Japan)
Thi Lien Nguyen (Vietnam)
Joyce Shenoda (Egypt)
Ana Juarez (Spain)