‘Having it here would be important, but we have encouraged players to prepare months in advance to remove their visas,’ said Steve Dainton; The tablet has not yet commented on the case
The official executive chief (CEO) of World Tennis (WTT), which organizes world table tennis competitions, manifested on Sunday (6) on the absence of No Wtt Grand Smash Las Vegas. The Brazilian was unable to travel to the United States for the tournament, one of the main four of the circuit – similar to the Grand Slam in tennis – due to a visa problem.
In an interview with the United States Table Tennis Association website (Usatt) to talk about the competition in Las Vegas, Steve Dainton addressed Hugo’s case. The leader lamented the absence of the Brazilian, currently in the third position in the world ranking, but considered that the responsibility is the athlete. The tablet has not yet commented.
“He [Hugo] He is an amazing player, with recent results that show that he is one of the best in the world today. Having it here would be important, but we have encouraged players to prepare months in advance to remove their visas and those who did it had no bigger problems, ”said Dainton.“ This is a message that being a professional demands more than just performance on the table. It also means taking responsibility outside it, ”added the leader.
Hugo has Portuguese citizenship. Under normal conditions, such as the European Union countries have a visa exemption in the US, it would only need to inform entry into the country through an electronic system. The Brazilian, however, was informed that he was no longer eligible for visa dismissal for going to Cuba in 2023 to compete in the Pan American Championship of the sport and the qualifying event to the Paris Olympics in France.
The 2015 Visa Exemption and Vision Prevention Program Improvement Law prevents the entry of without visa territory in case of visits to Cuba after 2021. According to Hugo’s press office, the athlete went after an emergency regular visa and was supported by Usatt and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (Usepc, but there were not) Availability of a consular interview in time for the Brazilian to compete in the competition.
Despite Hugo’s absence, Brazil will be represented in Las Vegas. Among the men, Vitor Ishiy (48th of the WTT ranking) debuts this Sunday at 11:45 pm (Brasília time) against Japanese Hiroto Shinozuka (29th) and will be the only Brazilian in the simple key. In the pairs, Vitor will compete alongside Guilherme Teodoro (142), while Leonardo Iizuka (80th) has as the Australian Hwan Bae (40th) as a partner.
In the female, the country’s representative in the individual tournament will be Bruna Takahashi, number 19 of the world. The Brazilian faces the Egyptian Dina Meshref (46th) this Sunday, at 11:45 pm. Bruna’s sister, Giulia Takahashi (77th) is in the doubles dispute with Laura Watanabe (114th). Giulia and Guilherme Teodoro still compete in the mixed pairs.
*With information from Agência Brasil
