Brazilian has Portuguese citizenship and only needed a travel authorization, but as Cuba recently visited sinned to request an emergency regular visa but would not give time to receive the approval or not
It will not keep the good phase in competition and think about winning another title, this time in the WTT of. This is because the Brazilian, champion of the Table Tennis World Cup, silver medal at the World Cup and coming from the winning of the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana in Slovenia, his eighth Cup in the WTT last weekend, was prevented from entering the United States. “Unfortunately I won’t be able to dispute the Grand Smash WTT in Las Vegas due to a bureaucratic impediment to entry into the United States,” he wrote on his account on social networks. “I am sorry to be out of one of the most important competitions of the season because of my control, especially from such positive results. It is frustrating,” lamented the Brazilian, number 3 of the world ranking.
The Brazilian has Portuguese citizenship, in this way he would only need to inform his entry into the United States through the Electronic Travel Authorization System, as countries of the European Union are part of the visa exemption program. It was precisely what Hugo Calderano did. It turns out that, given the longer period than usual for confirmation by the US authorities, he eventually contacted Customs and Border Protection (CPB). The information is that it was no longer eligible for visa waiver for going to Cuba in 2023 for the Pan American Championship match and the Paris-2024 Olympic Qualification Event, events organized by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The Brazilian had to request an emergency regular visa. The Tennist Table received support from the United States Table Tennis Association (Usatt) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (Usepc), and its emergency appointment approved. But, there was no availability for a consular interview that would allow him to arrive in time from the start of the competition and he became a great embezzlement of the Las Vegas Circuit edition. “I followed the same protocol of all the previous trips I made to the United States using my Portuguese passport. When I was informed about the situation, I mobilized my entire team to get a regular emergency visa, but unfortunately there was no time.”
The Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation (CBTM) also regretted what happened. “According to a statement from the athlete’s own, released, Hugo Calderano was prevented from traveling to the US and will be out of the Grand Smash Las Vegas, which starts today. CBTM deeply regrets what happens and expects the episode not compromise the athlete’s brilliant trajectory.”
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Sarah Paula
