Two podiums are from Korea! K Power, Kim Ha-eun, 2nd place Choi Bom, who shook the World Women's 3 Cushion Championship, performed well as tied for 3rd place

Sep 26, 2025

Kim Ha-eun (far left) and Choi Bo-mi (third from left) who finished second at the World Women's 3 Cushion Championships held in Murcia, Spain on the afternoon of the 25th (local time) took the podium. Courtesy of the Korean Basketball Association

South Korea's women's three cushion representatives have made valuable achievements at the World Championships.

Kim Ha-eun (world No. 2, Namyangju Danggu Federation) and Choi Bom-yi (world No. 7, Gimpo City Sports Council) took the podium side by side, flying two Korean flags at the awards ceremony. Kim Ha-eun and Choi Bo-mee finished second and tied for third respectively at the 「13th World Women's 3 Cushion Championship」, which ended in Murcia, Spain on the 25th (local time).

As a result, the Korean women's team won a medal at the world championships two years after winning the 2023 Ankara Women's 3 Cushion Championships (Lee Shin-young). In particular, all Korean national players who participated in this competition won the prize.

In the final held on the afternoon of the 25th, Kim Ha-eun finished second after losing 25-30 in 27 innings after a fierce neck-and-neck race with Dutch star Teresa Kloppenhauer (world No. 1). It was a great match for the final. They continued a tight scoring battle with each other.

Kloppenhauer's first ball started the game. Kloempenhauer calmly scored two points. Then, Kim Ha-eun, who took over the offensive right, immediately faced off with four points. Kim Ha-eun scored four runs in five innings when she was chased 8-6 to make it 12-6, and scored 15 runs in the 10th inning to break time first at 15-12. The atmosphere in the first half was tilted toward Kim Ha-eun.

However, break time was a big variable. Clompenhauer, as the world's No. 1 player, came out with a short break to boost his concentration. On the other hand, Kim Ha-eun seemed to be relieved, and only hit six innings after break time. Kloempenhouse came from behind 19-15 in the 19th inning after closing the score step by step. Kim Ha-eun also continued to score again from the 17th inning, exchanging reversals and reversals.

However, Kim Ha-eun failed to overcome the last crisis. He was struck out again in the 23rd inning. Kloempenhauer hit without missing an opportunity and finally sealed the victory. In the final, Kim Ha-eun recorded an average of 0.961. Kloempenhauer was 1.111. Compared to the fierce game, Abidge itself was not very high. This is where the two players feel the burden.

Kim Ha-eun (right), who finished second at the World Women's 3 Cushion Championships held in Murcia, Spain on the afternoon of the 25th (local time), and Choi Bom, who tied for third, are taking a commemorative photo with medals. Courtesy of the Korean Basketball Association

Although she missed the championship unfortunately, Kim Ha-eun achieved her best personal record. Kim Ha-eun, who tied for third in 2023 to win her first World Championship title, was frustrated in the round of 16 in 2024. This year, however, he made it to the finals. Kim Ha-eun said, `I'm happy to win another prize in two years, but at the same time, I'm disappointed. I've tied for third and second place, so I'll definitely win next year" expressed his feelings.

Choi Bom also tied for third in the first world championship stage, raising expectations for future growth. Choi Bo-mi showed a strong performance in the group qualifying round, defeating defending champion Charlotte Sørensen (Denmark, No. 4 in the world), and winning a come-from-behind victory over 'Veteran'Gulsen Degene (Turkiye, No. 16 in the world) in the quarterfinals.

I lost to Kim Ha-eun in the semifinals between Korean players. If they were in another group, Korean players could have met in the final. Choi Bom said, `It's my first world championship, and I'm really happy to win a prize beyond the group qualifying round. Thank you to everyone for your support."

Through this competition, the world ranking of the two players has also risen. Kim Ha-eun jumped from 12th to 2nd, and Choi Bom from 22nd to 7th.

Meanwhile, the 16th World Junior 3 Cushion Championships will open at the same venue from the 26th. Five South Korean players, Kim Do-hyun (Sangdong High School), Son Joon-hyuk (Bucheon Sports Council), Kim Hyun-woo (Chilbo Middle School), Jung Sang-wook (Seoul Dang-gu Federation), and Lee Kyu-seung (Seoseok High School), will participate in the competition to win the title in 2023 and try to win the title once again after ranking second in 2024.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.