Site Products
Latin American Cup Titles – Photo Courtesy of ITTF

Hugo Calderano and Lady Ruano Win Latin American Cup Titles

Hugo Calderano and Lady Ruano Win Latin American Cup Titles

2016 ITTF-Latin American Cup
Courtesy of ITTF

Hugo Calderano - Photo courtesy of ITTF / by Ronald Mendoza

Hugo Calderano – Photo courtesy of ITTF / by Ronald Mendoza

Winner earlier in the year of the Men’s Singles event at the ITTF-Latin American Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Brazil’s Hugo Calderano added to his list of titles by clinching the top prize at the 2016 ITTF-Latin American Cup in Guatemala City on the evening of Sunday June 5th.

The success was as anticipated; he was the top seed and clear favorite for gold, being presently listed at no.62 on the Men’s World Rankings.

At the final hurdle he overcame Mexico’s Marcos Madrid, the no.2 seed and named at no.167 in the global order; impressively the 19 year old from Rio de Janeiro emerged successful in five games (9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7).

Owns Both Titles
“I feel very good, I think I have now won all the tournaments in Latin America, so it is a good feeling”, said Hugo Calderano. “I arrived here as the top seed, it was not easy to win the tournament, everyone wanted to beat me; I’m really happy to win the title.”

Hugo Calderano becomes the first player to hold the Men’s Singles title at both the ITTF-Latin American Championships and ITTF Latin American Cup at the same time.

Maintains Brazilian Honor
Furthermore, success for Hugo Calderano meant that he maintained the honor of his country; since the event was first held in 2011, the Men’s Singles winner has always been a Brazilian.

Gustavo Tsuboi and Thiago Monteiro have each won the title twice; Cazuo Matsumoto has secured the title on one occasion. He won in 2014 in Asuncion, Paraguay; just as today, the beaten finalist was Marcos Madrid.

Surprise Winner
Victory for Hugo Calderano was very much as was anticipated; in the counterpart Women’s Singles event the name of the winner was somewhat of a surprise but Colombia’s Lady Ruano is continually springing surprises.

Lady Ruano - Photo courtesy of ITTF / by Ronald Mendoza

Lady Ruano – Photo courtesy of ITTF / by Ronald Mendoza

Occupying the no.7 seeded position in the draw, she recovered from a three games to nil deficit to beat Mexico’s Yadira Silva, the no.2 seed, in seven games (8-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8) to become only the third ever winner of the title.

The Dominican Republic’s Wu Xue won in 2011 in Rio de Janeiro and on home soil in Santo Domingo in 2013; the other three occasions have witnessed success for Brazil’s Caroline Kumahara.

Beautiful Blessing
“I am very grateful to God, winning this title is a beautiful blessing; you can’t imagine the sacrifice, training, hard work I have done to be here”, said Lady Ruano. “I dedicate this to my family, my country, my coach and the federation; also to Jhon Cruz my coach who has been with me all the time and to my trainer Angelo.”

It was a performance of great character from one of the quietest, most sincere and most reserved characters you could wish to meet.

“I appreciate the work we have all achieved together”, added Lady Ruano. “I am very happy, I was down but God gives me incredible strength to enable me to recover from three-nil down and win.”

Third Place
Third place in the Men’s Singles event was won by Ecuador’s Alberto Miño, in the counterpart Women’s Singles event the bronze medal was secured by Chile’s Paulina Vega.

“I am happy with third place; obviously I would have liked to have won the tournament but there were good players here”, said Alberto Miño. “Hugo Calderano is in really good shape sat the moment; for me I have to keep training and preparing for the future competitions.”

Similar Reaction
A realistic Alberto Miño; it was a similar reaction from Paulina Vega.

“I am pleased, we always try to become champions but I feel I gave the best, although I didn’t feel very comfortable at the beginning of the tournament”, said Paulina Vega. “I had to solve problems during matches, to gain third place I had to keep calm and fight point by point.”

Play Off Contests
Alberto Mino beat Brazil’s Eric Jouti in the play-off contest (11-3, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6); Paulina Vega overcame Venezuela’s Gremlis Arvelo (11-7, 9-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-8).

 

 

2016 ITTF-Latin American Cup Men's Singles Podium - Photo courtesy of ITTF / by Ronald Mendoza

2016 ITTF-Latin American Cup Men’s Singles Podium – Photo courtesy of ITTF / by Ronald Mendoza

Finals

Latest News

Playing Kids

July 8, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Let’s face it; they’re probably faster than you. They might have a coach working with… Read More

#2 A Skill That Is Likely To Score – Backhand Down The Line

July 7, 2025
[[Feature] [Special Feature] American Stars! Jha’s Strengths #2 A Skill That Is Likely To Score – Backhand Down… Read More

United States Smash: Tight Scores and a Big Upset in Early Action

July 7, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Action is underway in the main round of the United States Smash, the… Read More

MLTT Featured Team: Bay Area Blasters

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo MLTT) The Bay Area Blasters plan to blast through the upcoming Major League Table… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Calgary United Sports Table Tennis Association

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) Established in 2002, Calgary United Sports Table Tennis Association (CUSTTA) is Alberta’s largest Table Tennis… Read More

Butterfly Players Shine at the 2025 US National Table Tennis Championships

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) The 2025 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships is one of the premiere annual… Read More

US Nationals Recap

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) The US National Table Tennis Championships is in the books.  One of America’s premiere events… Read More

United States Smash: Qualifiers are Finished and the Main Draw Begins Today

July 6, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) Americans made waves in the qualifying rounds of the United States Smash, the… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.