Brazil women’s team wins South American table tennis

The Brazilian women’s team won this Friday (22), in Pereira (Colombia), the title of the South American Table Tennis Championship for the 14th time. In the decision, the Brazilians overcame Chile, winning three best-of-five matches.

The final did not start well for Brazil, defeated in the first two games. Number two in the country and 86th in the ranking of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Carol Kumahara could not resist Paulina Vega, the main Chilean table tennis player and 95th in the world, surpassed by three sets to two (11/6, 9/11, 5/11, 11/4 and 10/12). Then Giulia Takahashi (288th) fell to Daniela Ortega (151st), also by three to two (2/11, 7/11, 11/7, 19/17 and 8/11).

The reaction started with Laura Watanabe (311th), who defeated Judith Morales (197th) by three to one (9/11, 11/13, 11/9 and 9/11). Same score as Carol’s victory over Daniela (10/12, 11/5, 14/12 and 11/9). The match between Giulia and Paulina then decided the title. Despite being 21 years younger than her opponent, the 17-year-old Brazilian ran over and won by three to zero (11/8, 11/2 and 11/9).

“I’m particularly happy to start the work in a positive way. I just have to thank you, because the girls were warriors. The turnaround started with Laura and then we found our best. We managed to adapt, it was a boring game, the conditions weren’t When we found our rhythm, we took it easy to finish and win. It’s learning to suffer to win. It was an excellent lesson, they’re going to get tough”, praised coach Hideo Yamamoto, who directed the adult team for the first time, to the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation (CBTM).

In the men’s final, Brazil took the runner-up, surpassed by Argentina. The opponents won the first three games and settled the confrontation in three to zero. Fourth best-placed Brazilian in the ITTF ranking, in 90th position, Eric Jouti was defeated by Gastón Alto (109th) by three sets to one (7/11, 11/5, 11/13 and 9/11). Then, Guilherme Teodoro (773rd) lost to Horácio Cifuentes (78th) by the same score (5/11, 4/11, 12/10 and 7/11). Finally, Rafael Turrini (412th) could not resist Santiago Lorenzo (203rd) and fell three to two (6/11, 11/8, 7/11, 13/11 and 3/11).

“I think that even with the defeat in the final, we saw several positive things. Our team was a mixture of experience and youth. The young people showed that they can represent the Brazilian team well and create strong competition to have space in the team for the next championships” , analyzed coach Francisco Arado, known as Paco, also on the CBTM website.

The South American Championship continues until Wednesday (27), with singles and doubles. Brazil sent to the competition, in both suits, a mixture of experienced names and new faces. The men’s team, for example, had Guilherme and Rafael, debutants in the main team, playing alongside Eric – who was a reserve at the Tokyo Olympics (Japan), last year, as well as Giulia, in the women’s.

The “veteran” of the delegation is Carol, who represented the country in three editions of the Olympic Games. Highlights such as Hugo Calderano (fifth in the world among men) and Bruna Takahashi (18th among women) are not part of the group in Colombia.