Brazil is champion of the world table tennis world. The unprecedented victory for the country carries the name of the 28 -year -old carioca Hugo Calderano, the first athlete outside Asia and Europe to reach a decision of a worldwide tournament. And now, the first champion of the Americas.
Debuting in the World Cup final, played on Sunday (20) in Macao, the Brazilian won 4 games to 1 Chinese Lin Shidong, 20, current leader of the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) ranking.
“Before the tournament started, I couldn’t imagine being champion,” said the Calderano. “I think I consolidated my name in the history of table tennis.”
Thrilled, the Brazilian cried when talking about the title and weight after the defeat at the Olympics. “If you talked to me a month ago, I was very bad.”
To reach the unprecedented result, Hugo Calderano had already achieved capitalized victories throughout the campaign. The Japanese Japanese Tomokazu Harimoto, 3rd in the ranking, by turn, eliminated in the quarterfinals, when he has already secured Brazil’s first medal in the competition, played since 1980 – there is no dispute for third place.
Current 5th of the ranking, the Brazilian won, also on a turn, the Chinese Wang Chuqin, number 2 of the world, in a game valid for the semifinals of the competition.
Hugo Calderano’s Way to the Title
- Octaves: Hugo Calderano 4 X 1 Hiroto Shinozuka (29º No Ranking)
- Wednesdays: Hugo Calderano 4 X 1 Tomokazu Harimoto (3º)
- Semifinal: Hunderan 4 x 3 long shuqin (2o)
- Final: Huderan 4 x 1 Lin Shidong (1o)
In the group stage, he had already surpassed Canadian Eugene Wang (65th) and Japanese Yukiya Uda (30th), both by 3 sets to 1. In the round of 16, he passed the Japanese Hiroto Shinozuka (29th).
“I hope to inspire many young people who are starting to play table tennis and any other sport to go ahead,” said the Brazilian after the semifinals victory.
This is the sixth participation of the World Cup Table of the World. Until then, his best result had been in 2019, when he reached the quarterfinals. He is also the only three-time champion of the sport in Pan American games.
The result in the World Cup comes less than a year after Hugo Calderano earn the best result of Brazilian table tennis in Olympics when he finished fourth at Paris games.
In the competition, he lost his bronze to Frenchman Felix Lebrun, but once again occupied the third place in the ITTF ranking, the best of his career and an athlete in the Americas, for the Paris Olympics campaign.
“I’m going back and try again,” Calderano promised after defeat in France. “I put the centerpiece in the center of my life, all the choices I make is for the table tennis.”
In addition to the result of Calderano, the competition was also marked by achievements in the women’s table tennis category. Paulista Bruna Takahashi (24th of the ranking) became the first Brazilian to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
In the round of 16, she defeated Romanian Bernadette Szocs (14th) by 4 sets at 0 (11/8, 11/7, 11/7 and 11/5). Following, he stopped in front of the favorite Chinese Chen Xingtong (4th), who won the duel 4-1 (11/8, 6/11, 11/11, 11/7 and 11/7).
