The 2019 Pan American Games finished over the weekend in Lima, Peru. The tournament began on August 4 and concluded on Saturday, August 10. The tournament featured Singles, Doubles, and Team events.
The top seed in Men’s Singles was Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, with a World Ranking of No. 6 and the top ranked player in this hemisphere. Calderano’s teammate, Gustavo Tsuboi, was the second seed (World No. 32), and USA’s Kanak Jha (World No. 33) was the third seed. As you would imagine, the top Men’s Team seed was Brazil with Tsuoboi and Calderano joined by Jouti (World No. 55). Chile was the second seed with Gomez, Lamadrid, and Moya. Team USA was seeded third with Kanak Jha, Nikhil Kumar, and Nicholas Tio.
The top ranked woman was Canada’s Mo Zhang at World No. 27. Adriana Diaz (No. 30) of Puerto Rico was second, and Americans Jennifer Wu and Lily Zhang were seeded third and fourth (at World No 35 and World No. 66). Team USA was the tournament’s top seed with Amy Wang joining Wu and Zhang. Puerto Rico was the second seed with Adriana Diaz, Melanie Diaz, and Daniely Rios.
SINGLES RESULTS:
The biggest story in Men’s Singles event was Jiaji Wu of the Dominican Republic Jiaji immigrated to the Dominican Republic from China and is clearly better than his ITTF World Ranking of No. 648. Jiaji’s run at this tournament included a 4-2 win over the tournament’s second seed Gustavo Tsuboi in the Round of 16, a 4-1 win over Brian Afanador, a 4-2 win over the tournament’s third seed Kanak Jha, and two leads over World No. 6 Hugo Calderano. Ultimately, top-seeded Hugo Calderano needed all seven games to beat Jiaji Wu to claim the title. The final score was Calderano over Jiaji 4-3 (8, -6, -8, 7, -8, 8, 2). Kanak Jha and Eugene Wang claimed the bronze medals.
In Women’s Singles, second-seeded Adriana Diaz claimed the title with a 4-1 win over USA’s Jennifer Wu. Melanie Diaz and Takahashi were the bronze medalists.
TEAM RESULTS:
There was real excitement in the Men’s Team event with two unexpected teams making the Final. Cuba unexpectedly advanced to the Semifinals, eliminating second seeded Chile along the way. But it was Argentina that topped Cuba to reach the Final. In the other Semifinal, Team USA scored two upsets to defeat Brazil 4-2. To see the detailed review of the match, view Pan Am Update: A Puncher’s Chance – USA Upset Brazil.
In the USA/Argentina Final, it was USA that struck first with the doubles team of Kumar/Tio scoring a 3-1 win over Cifuentes/Alto of Argentina. Earlier in the tournament, this same Argentine team defeated Kumar/Tio on their way to the Silver medal, but it was TeamUSA that was the better team the second time. USA scored a second win when Kanak Jha outclassed Pablo Tabachnik for a quick win. The next two matches went to Argentina with Horatio Cifuentes (World No. 91) defeating Nikhil Kumar and with Pablo Tabachnik topping Nicholas Tio. But the final match was another mismatch with Kanak Jha topping Gaston Alto 3-0. For detailed coverage of the match, view Pan Am Games: USA are Men’s Team Champions.
While the USA men were executing their unlikely upset of Brazil, the opposite was occurring in the Women’s Team event. The USA Women won the doubles to take the early lead, but then lost 3 of 4 of the singles matches despite having the two highest seeded singles players. The order of the matches and the individual match-ups bring strategy into play – and on this day, Bruna Takahashi scored two singles wins, and Jessica Yamada scored the decisive third, and that was enough for Brazil to advance. In the other Semifinal, it was Puerto Rico over Canada in a dominant 3-0 performance.
In the final, Puerto Rico won the doubles without using their top player, Adriana Diaz. This strategy allowed Adriana to play singles twice and should have been an advantage – but Bruna Takahashi beat Adriana 3-1. After Kumahara defeated Rios 3-1, Brazil seemed to have everything set up for a win. However, Adriana Diaz won the next match to tie the score, and then Melanie Diaz upset Takahashi in the final singles match to give Puerto Rico the win.
DOUBLES RESULTS:
The Men’s Doubles title went to Brazil (Calderano/Tsuboi) over Argentina (Alto/Cifuentes) 4-2. The semifinalists were Puerto Rico (Afanador/Gonzalez) and the Dominican Republic (Santos/Gonzales). The American team of Kumar/Tio lost early to Argentina’s team of Alto/Cifuentes 4-2 – a match that would be replayed on a bigger stage on the last day of the tournament.
The Women’s Doubles title went to Puerto Rico’s Diaz and Diaz team. They defeated TeamUSA’s Jennifer Wu and Lily Zhang 4-3. The semifinalists were Brazil (Takahashi/Yamada) and Canada Cote/Zhang).
The Mixed Doubles title went to Canada’s Eugene Wang and Mo Zhang who defeated Brazil (Tsuoboi/Takahashi) 4-1. Puerto Rico (Afanador/Diaz) and Argentina (Alto/Cifuentes) received the Bronze.
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The Petr Korbel blade will support Ilius B’s performance due to its moderate bounce. This blade will make drop shots easier with its low trajectory as well as providing high stability when blocking.
The combination with Innerforce Layer ALC.S, which has less bounce, would be also a good choice that brings out the rubber’s main performance qualities.
For players who value chops with wide range of spin
Innershield Layer ZLF is a blade for a chopper that requires less bounce and is recommended for the chopper who seeks a more defensive game.
The racket makes chops and pushes with a wide range of spin easier and will help you to play a safer game leading to your opponents to make more errors.
This is a combination with a 7-plywood blade with a relatively high reaction. The racket makes it possible to create shots with speed, such as punches that bounce deeper in the opponent’s court with less trajectory.
It is a recommendation for the players who aim to achieve a hybrid game of both attack and defense close to the table using various spins and changes of rhythm.
For all-round choppers that play at variable distances
Diode V is a blade for choppers and has high reaction properties. This is recommended for choppers that seek attacking play as well.
It is relatively easy to control the opponent’s ball at mid-distance, and it enables players to create heavy chops with a low trajectory when at a long distance away from the table. The racket performs well during various defensive techniques and during defensive play at a variable distance.
This is a combination with a 7-plywood blade with a relatively high reaction. The racket makes it possible to create shots with speed, such as punches that bounce deeper in the opponent’s court with less trajectory.
It is a recommendation for the players who aim to achieve a hybrid game of both attack and defense close to the table using various spins and changes of rhythm.
Dignics 05 will provide a better sense of holding the ball and adding power if combined with Harimoto Tomokazu Innerforce ALC and Innerforce Layer ALC. The combination will enhance the accuracy of topspin against backspin and counter topspin play close to the table.
Innerforce Layer ZLC
Dignics 05
Powerful play close to the table and from mid-distance
The combination of Innerforce Layer ZLC and Apolonia ZLC is recommended for the player who seeks powerful play close to the table or at a mid-distance. It enables the player to return the opponent’s service using the banana-flick before executing powerful topspin strokes. Both blades possess the sense of holding the ball and releasing the power in a balanced manner.
Lin Gaoyuan ALC
Dignics 05
High-level all-round play
This is a combination with a comparably soft and easy-to-handle blade using Arylate-Carbon, like Lin Gaoyuan ALC, Timo Boll ALC or Viscaria. The blend is suited to players who aspire to use aggressive all-round play from all parts of the playing area.
Hadraw VR
Dignics 05
Powerful play with a feeling of all-wood
Combing Hadraw VR with Dignics 05 realizes both powerful offensive play and rich rotation of the ball generated from all-wood feeling.
Cypress G-MAX
Dignics 05
Powerful play generated by Japanese penhold
Combined with Dignics 05 and Cypress G-MAX, generates more power, the blend is recommended for Japanese penhold players who seek powerful forehand topspin. Dignics 80 for more balance and Dignics 64 for more speed are also recommended.
Zhang Jike Super ZLC
Dignics 80
Play in higher level without weak point
Combing a rubber well-balanced between speed and rotation, Dignics 80, and Super ZL Carbon-equipped racket Zhang Jike Super ZLC guides your play to not only a powerful but also a stable higher level.
Mizutani Jun ZLC
Dignics 80
Smart play at variable distance
Jun Mizutani chooses the combination of Dignics 80 and the desirable bounce blade Mizutani Jun ZLC. As Dignics 80 has an excellent balance between speed and spin, you can easily decide whether to block or counter depending on the speed of the opponent’s ball. This is the combination enabling an offensive counter topspin away from the table, recommended for the player who plays smart at variable distance.
Timo Boll ZLF
Dignics 80
Stable and powerful counter topspin play
The combination of Dignics 80 and Timo Boll ZLF has both good bounce and control and offers reliability thanks to the holding the ball well. This is recommended for an aggressive well-balanced playing style focused on stability.
Timo Boll CAF
Dignics 80
Develop the power
A wide range of players can benefit from Dignics series although its main intended use is for players at intermediate to a high level. The rubber will widen your options by making a powerful stroke possible even though the player is not confident in his/her power play if the stroke movement is short and slow. We recommend the combination with easy-to-use blade Timo Boll CAF to develop your play.
Zhang Jike ZLC
Dignics 64
Develop the power
Play in higher level without weak point
Combing a rubber well-balanced between speed and rotation, Dignics 80, and Super ZL Carbon-equipped racket Zhang Jike Super ZLC guides your play to not only a powerful but also a stable higher level.
Innerforce Layer ALC
Dignics 64
All-round play in a wider area
The combination is recommended for blocking and counter topspin close to the table. The racket also offers a good experience of topspin against topspin play in the mid/mid-long distance. Innerforce Layer ALC.S which has less bounce is also recommended if you seek more stability.
SK7
Dignics 64
Stable topspin-against-topspin play
Dignics 64 which has good spin offers power and stability by combing with all-wood blade SK7 Classic.