Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and China’s Sun Yingsha took home the top prizes in Sunday’s finals for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Men’s and Women’s World Cup Macao 2025 presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group.
The week-long competition was held at Galaxy Arena in Cotai.
Calderano, 28, emerged victorious against World No. 1 Lin Shidong from China, who started strong, leading with a score of 6-11. However, the Brazilian caught up and went on to win the following four consecutive games, with his scores being 11-7, 11-9, 11-4, 11-5, according to a statement on the ITTF website.
The Brazilian had also beaten China’s Wang Chuqin, ranked World No.2 in the ITTF men’s category, during closely fought battles at the semifinals.
The statement noted that Calderano made history by being the first Brazilian and Pan American player to win the ITTF Men’s World Cup that was launched back in 1980. The inaugural event was held in Hong Kong, and the first champion was Guo Yuehua of China.
He is the first non-Chinese player since the 2017 Men’s singles World Cup winner Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany to win a major men’s singles tournament, the statement added.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 in the ITTF women’s category Sun Yingsha from China defended her title against her fellow compatriot Kuai Man, winning four consecutive games and scoring 11-9, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6.
Calderano and Sun were awarded the Evans Cup and Hammarlund Cup respectively, according to a Sports Bureau statement released yesterday morning.
The week-long ITTF-sanctioned event, which made its Macau debut last year, featured a total of 96 paddlers, with 48 male and female athletes vying for top prizes.
This photo provided by the Sports Bureau (ID) and released on Sunday shows Brazil’s Hugo Calderano during the finals for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Men’s and Women’s World Cup Macao 2025 presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group at the Galaxy Arena in Cotai.
Sun Yingsha competes during Sunday’s ITTF finals at Galaxy Arena. – Photos: Sports Bureau (ID)
