ARLINGTON, Texas – Youngseon Cho of Korea topped Team USA’s Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, in the quarterfinals then went on to capture the men’s singles title Saturday at the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
Cho, the fifth seed in the match-play bracket after the morning qualifying session, beat Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz, 2-0 (226-182, 257-253) in the title match at Sky Bowling.
Germany earned its second medal of the event as Tobias Bording defeated Italy’s Salvatore Polizzotto in the bronze-medal match, 201-177 and 191-187. Laura Beuthner won the women’s singles title on Friday.
Cho opened match play with a victory over Venezuela’s Massimiliano Fridegotto, 2-0 (255-192, 195-158) to advance against Jones in the quarterfinals. Jones, who qualified 13th for the match-play bracket, beat Singapore’s Qi En Kuek, winning 267-226 and 279-268, in the Round of 16.
Against Cho, Jones won the opening game, 247-244, followed by a 215-215 tie in Game 2 that required a one-ball rolloff. Each struck on their first ball, then Jones had a 9-count on the second ball while Cho struck to win the game. Cho then took Game 3, 259-156, to advance.
Cho then would knock out Polizzotto, dropping the first game, 206-192, before winning the next two games, 253-175 and 279-165, to reach the title match.
Denmark’s Thomas Larsen and Mexico’s Ricardo Lecuona led the morning qualifying session, each posting a 1,420 pinfall total. Larsen would fall to Polizzotto in the quarterfinals while Lecuona lost in the Round of 16. Team USA’s Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, had a slow start in qualifying and did not make the match-play bracket.
The bowling competition continues Sunday, when Team USA’s Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, who won the silver medal in women’s singles on Friday, teams with Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, for women’s doubles. Jones and Kent will return to the lanes on Monday for men’s doubles, the final event for bowling.
The World Games, which have been held every four years since 1981, is an international multi-sport event for sports, disciplines or events within a sport that are not contested in the Olympic Games.
Organized and governed by the International World Games Association (IWGA), under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Games will showcase 31 sports and approximately 3,500 athletes and officials from more than 100 countries during the 11 days of competition that started July 21.
Visit TheWorldGames2017.com/en for more information on the World Games.
United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women’s Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.
Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 2,500 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.
