Brazilian tablet Hugo Calderano is in a bright week in Macao, China. In the early hours of this Saturday (19), he defeated Chinese Wang Chuqin 4-3 (14-12, 5-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5 and 12-10) and reached the final of the World Cup.
The result is not only the best of Calderano’s career, but also from the country and any athlete from outside Europe and Asia. In the big decision, the Brazilian will face another Chinese, Lin Shidong, current number 1 ranking worldwide. The match is scheduled to start at 9:15 am on Sunday (20).
Calderano had to display overcoming compared to number 2 of the ranking. Chuqin had won four of the five previous duels between the two and even opened 3 sets to 1, needing just one more partial to win the game. However, Hugo found the strength to overcome three sets in a row, including saving a match-point in the last one.
Upon reaching the semifinal, the Brazilian had already guaranteed the best performance of an athlete in the country in the history of the competition. Since there is no bronze dispute, he had also secured a place on the podium. Before 2025, his best campaign had been in 2019 when he reached the Wednesdays.
In Macao, the carioca tablet went through four opponents, three Japanese. The last of them, Tomokazu Harimoto, defeated by Calderano 4-1 in the quarterfinals, is number three in the world, two positions above the Brazilian.
