The Brazilian Hugo Calderano became the first athlete in the Americas to secure a place on the podium of the stage of the Table Tennis World Cup in Macau (China). The 28 -year -old carioca, current number five in the world, qualified after winning Japanese Tomakazu Harimoto, a third best in the ranking, 4 sets to 1 (partials of 8/111/8, 11/8, 11/8 and 12/10). In addition, Calderano is the only non -Asian among the semifinalists in Macau.
It will be Carioca’s first semi this season, its best performance so far. As the tournament has no third place dispute, Calderano has already secured the bronze medal. But, of course, his goal is to reach the top of the podium. He competes again at 3:45 am (Brasília time) this Saturday (19). The opponent will be Chinese Wang Chuquin, the current runner-up in the world ranking. The match will have Live Free Transmission In the International Table Tennis Federation account (ITTF World) on YouTube.
Brazil also featured Bruna Takahashi in the quarterfinals female in the simple key. The Paulista (24th in the ranking) won a set to tell the Chinese Chen Xingtong, number four in the world, but Asian made her favoritism and sealed the classification to the semifinals with a win by 4 sets to 1 (11/6, 6/11, 11/11, 11/7 and 11/7).
The country began competition with two other athletes, Vitor Ishiy and Eric Jouti, eliminated in the group stage. The World Cup stage in Macao brings together 48 athletes and runs until next Sunday (20). Brazilian table tennis searches unprecedented medal in the tournament.
