Quotes of the day (Sunday 3rd February) Guaynaboby Ian Marshall, Editor
Table tennis ruled; the atmosphere electric.
………….Adriana Diaz, the no.2 seed, brought the tournament to a conclusion and she brought the house down; she beat Canada’s Zhang Mo, the top seed and defending champion, to secure the title (13-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9).
…………..Hugo Calderano, the top seed, proved a step ahead of the field; he beat 18 year old Kanak Jha of the United States, the no.3 seed (11-2, 12-14, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10) to retain the title won some six months ago in Asuncion.
…………..The line-up for the semi-final stage of the men’s event was the same as six months earlier in Asuncion; on that occasion Hugo Calderano and Gustavo Tsuboi had prevailed in straight games. In Guaynabo it was different. Hugo Calderano, the top seed, had to recover from two games to one deficit to beat Paraguay’s Marcelo Aguirre, the no.4 seed (11-7, 7-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11). Gustavo Tsuboi, the no.2 seed, was beaten by Kanak Jha of the United States, the no.3 seed (8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8).
…………In the women’s penultimate round Adriana Diaz beat Wu Yue of the United States in seven games (11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 7-11, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4); the same by which she had beaten the American in the final at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
…………Zhang Mo, the top seed, overcame Bruna Takahashi at the semi-final stage of the women’s event last year in Asuncion; she did the same in Guaynabo. She prevailed in straight games (11-8, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5).
…………Wu Yue of the United States claimed third place in the women’s event; she beat Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi in the bronze medal contest (11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10) and thus reversed the decision of last November when she experienced defeat in the women’s team final at the 2010 Pan American Championships.
………….Gustavo Tsuboi accounted for Marcelo Aguirre (11-6, 11-6, 3-11, 11-3, 11-5) to reserve third place in the men’s event; it meant he continued his drop down the order. In 2017 he won in San José, last year he was the runner up in Asuncion.
Universal 2019 Pan America Cup: Quotes of the day – Sunday 3rd February
