(Photo: WTT)
Hugo Calderano ended his participation in Saudi Smash. After two victories, the Brazilian lost to German Dang Qiu by 3 sets to 1 (11/9, 4/11, 11/5 and 11/8), on the afternoon of this Wednesday (08), and fell into the round of 16 of the tournament , which is the highest level on the world table tennis circuit. As a result, Brazil no longer has any living representatives in the competition.
Hugo and Qiu had a balanced first set, in which the German prevailed in the final stretch, 11/9. The Brazilian came back with everything for the second half and, with sharp shots, managed to be dominant to close the set at 11/4. From the third set onwards, the roles were reversed: Qiu was superior and won 11/5. He then maintained an intense volume of attacks and emerged victorious at 11/8, winning the duel.
Hugo is ranked eighth in the world, while Dang Qiu is ranked number ten in the world. With the Brazilian’s defeat, Saudi Smash has only two of the eight top seeds in the quarterfinals of the men’s tournament: China’s Wang Chuqin and France’s Felix Lebrun. Dang will face compatriot Patrick Franziska, who eliminated China’s Fan Zhendong, two-time world champion.
Fight for Paris
Hugo Calderano is already qualified for Paris-2024, but is still fighting to be one of the top seeds in the Olympic table tennis tournament, which would avoid a confrontation with the Chinese until the semifinals. To do this, he needs to be among the top four in the world rankings, considering only two athletes per country, at the end of the Olympic race. Right now, he is fifth on the list.
Calderano started the week with 401 points behind Taiwanese Lin Yun-Ju, fourth in that classification. With the Saudi Smash campaign, the Brazilian has already scored 105 points and closed the gap to his opponent, who fell on his debut in the tournament. Hugo could be overtaken in the next update if Wang Chuqin or Felix Lebrun are not champions in Saudi Arabia.
22 years old from São Paulo. Journalist graduated from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). I’ve been at Olimpíada Todo Dia since 2022. I covered the World University Games in Chengdu and the Pan-American Games in Santiago-2023.
