Brazilian President Praises Calderano After Overthrowing Chinese Table Tennis Dominance

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed Calderano's unprecedented feat after he defeated the Chinese world No. 1 and No. 2 to win the men's singles title at the ITTF Table Tennis World Cup Macau 2025.

Hugo Calderano makes history with title at ITTF Table Tennis World Cup Macau 2025 - Photo: THX

28-year-old tennis player Hugo Calderano from Rio de Janeiro made history, becoming the first Brazilian tennis player to win the world championship. In particular, Calderano's history-making journey was so impressive that the world press compared it to a "fairy tale".

After making it through the group stage, Calderano defeated Japanese world number 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 4-1 in the quarter-finals, then made a dramatic comeback to defeat Chinese opponent Wang Chuqin (world number 2) 4-3 in the semi-finals.

In the final match on Sunday night, April 20, Calderano faced world No. 1 Lin Shidong. And in just 42 minutes, Calderano defeated Lin Shidong with a score of 4-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4, 11-5) to take the throne and officially make his name in history.

Calderano is the first non-European or non-Asian player to win the tournament. His victory also overthrew China's dominance in the men's singles. The last time a non-Chinese player won the title was in 2017, when German Dimitrij Ovtcharov won.

On social media, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva praised Calderano's achievement. He wrote: "I am very happy with Hugo Calderano's unprecedented achievement in Macau. An incredible achievement... Congratulations."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tong-thong-brazil-ca-ngoi-calderano-sau-khi-lat-do-su-thong-tri-cua-bong-ban-trung-quoc-20250421085155492.htm