Rio table tennis player Hugo Calderano asserted his favoritism and won his debut at the WTT Champions in Frankfurt (Germany) this Tuesday (5), ensuring his place in the round of 16. In just 24 minutes of the match, the Brazilian, number 6 in the world, defeated the South Korean Oh Junsung (29th in the ranking), aged 18, by 3 sets to 0 (partials of 11/8, 11/7 and 11/ 7).
In the round of 16, Calderano will face Kazakh Kirill Gerassimeko (49th), on a date and time yet to be defined. The only time they faced each other, eight years ago, Calderano got the better of his Kazakh opponent.
The German tournament brings together 10 elite table tennis players, including the Chinese Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong – leader and runner-up in the world rankings – and the young Frenchman Félix Lebrun (5th), who defeated Calderano in the bronze medal match at the Paris Games . The WTT Champions champion – the final will be on Sunday (10) – will gain 1000 points in the ranking and the second place winner will earn 700 points.
Calderano already has a guaranteed presence at the WTT Finals, which will decide the 2024 champion of the world circuit between November 20th and 24th, in Fukuoka (Japan). Only the best 16 table tennis players of the year compete in the Finals.
Brazil also had Bruna Takahashi (19th in the ranking) in the women’s individual competition, but the São Paulo native said goodbye right on her debut, last Sunday (3), after losing to Japanese Mima Ito (8th) by 3 sets to 0 (11 /5, 12/10 and 11/7).
