Wednesday, November 1st.- Brazilian Hugo Calderano took sweet revenge in the table tennis event at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, clinching the gold medal in the male’s singles just a day after tasting defeat in the doubles final.

Calderano, who had lost alongside his partner Vitor Ishiy in the male's doubles final on Tuesday, secured the singles gold with a comfortable victory over Cuban Andy Pereira. The scoreline was 11-3, 11-8, 11-5, and 11-4. Pereira had actually defeated Calderano in the male's doubles final with Jorge Campos.

Delighted after the victory, Calderano stated, "It was a good game on my part, especially in the service and reception. That's the most crucial aspect in table tennis, and I think that was the key to victory. From start to finish, I played quite solidly."

In passing, Calderano achieved a historic three-peat at the Pan American level, considering his gold medals in Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019.
"It's a three-peat that makes me proud after winning in Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019. I'm the first to achieve it, and it's very important to me. It gives me even more motivation to keep training and striving for medals," evaluated the Brazilian.

On his part, Andy Pereira stated, "It was a tough match against the world number four. I knew it would be challenging, and it was evident that his level is well above the rest. I gave it my all, but it was difficult because I couldn't grasp his game. Despite the outcome, it's a historic medal for Cuba since it's the first one in individual table tennis."

On the female's side, Puerto Rican Adriana Díaz celebrated the gold in the women's singles. She defeated Brazilian Bruna Takahashi with scores of 9-11, 14-12, 11-3, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, and 11-7.

With the gold medal around her neck, Díaz said, "As the games went on, it became more complicated. At times, I didn't feel entirely comfortable with my table tennis, but in the end, the mental aspect was the most important and what allowed me to secure the victory."

This gold medal further bolsters Brazil's impressive performance in the Santiago 2023 medal standings, where they stand in second place with 33 gold medals and a total of 133 overall medals. Puerto Rico is in 16th place thanks to their first gold medal in table tennis, bringing their total medal count to 12.

Written by Patricio Echagüe - Leslie Castillo; translated by Rocio Rojas / Photosport
Photo by Javier Vergara/ Santiago 2023 / Photosport