Hugo Calderano vs Shunsuke Togami | World Cup Macao 2026

Last match for today, and we are to witness the prowess of the defending champion, Hugo Calderano. The thrill from Brazil against Japan's multiple champions, Shunsuke Togami. I have been watching their individual matches at previous tournaments, and I would say this will be an interesting one as both have these powerful and quick backhand shots. To add, their forehand loops are also incredible. Who do you think will win? The eyes of Hugo are just too keen. His reflexes are fast, and I did not believe he just countered that fast flick of Togami. Hugo is owning Shunsuke this early. That's the backhand flick I was talking about. Shunsuke's flicks are too powerful and good thing. Hugo is well adept to this. A high toss and a fake spin. Hugo Calderano takes care of game one, and Shunsuke Togami fought well. It's just that some of his attacks are going out of bounds. If he focuses and adjusts his angle, he will be a danger to Hugo Calderano. When you put all your might into your serve, and your opponent just brushed it to your far end. What a play. It's just a solid mastery by Hugo. His backhand flick is at another level. He can put it in the far left or far right. Ball control is there. Can he close the gap though? Shunsuke's power is all over the table right now. Pure raw power to take the game point. Shunsuke is not messing around. He is focused to beat the defending champion. As Togami took game two, Hugo Calderano refocused and he wanted to take this lead. The pressure might just be higher for him as he needs to defend his title. And to add, he is using a new setup. He used to be under Xiom company. He transferred to Jala and his blade and rubbers are from Jula. Saw that on the previous tournament and hopefully he has fully tamed his equipment. And contenders for fun as he What a beautiful play by Togami. Just look at that flick. He knew the ball would not end there and you can see the movement of his feet preparing to smash and counter the power of Hugo. His tail up here. A simple pendulum and a flick. Togami is just stunning Hugo Calderano right now as he takes two consecutive games. Togami takes game three to take the lead two to one. Is this the result you are expecting? Hugo was nearly scoreless in this game three. Diving into game What will be the response of the defending champion? Pure power. Calderano knows what he is doing. If you attack the middle of your opponent, they will panic and if your attack is quick, their recovery time might not just be enough. Pure art. The ball placement was just incredible. Goes for the lob and the superman shots on the other end. What a good exchange of plays as we are now tied at two. This just shows these two are nearly on par with each other. Hugo takes three point game lead. Have you seen that wiper attack? He is forcing a side spin on that shot but Togami was just as good to return that. What in the world was that? That was out of the universe. This is table tennis in its pure magical moment. The exchange of power in those forehand loops. The side steps and hustle. What a play. Anyway, you might notice Togami's leg seems like he is a bit injured. So predatory. Sometimes he finds himself too close to the net. Wow. Togami is once again playing really well. I did not expect that this game would be as close as this. Togami is just playing the best game of his life. Well except for his legs. His team keeps on massaging it every break. Your strength will be your downfall as some say. Hugo's prowess in his backhand flicks did not make that to the table. It was just way too much as Togami takes game 5 to take the lead 3-2. The defending champion is in danger right now. Togami can do him. Good for him that Togami is missing some of his few shots this game. That behind the back shot, if that went in, that might just be another one of Hugo's core highlights of his career. Still leading big and we might just go into a decider. If Hugo loses this game, it's his end but with the scores, we might just go into the decider. It's like Hugo is just swiping his cards. Two swiping motions that went in the opposite direction. We are going into the decider as Hugo closed this game 6 with a win. Tied at 3, only one will advance to the quarterfinals. This game 7 decides who will move on. Who do you think will? Pure power to take a three-point lead. Calderano is just showing raw power right now. Take note that this is the decider. Every point matters the most. That counter was just superb. The speed of their feet is just incredible. Even Togami knew he messed that by tiny amount but the power of Hugo Calderano was just incredible that time. My brain just couldn't fathom what happened there but my heart knew it was purely beautiful. What an ending point. This just shows that these two are winners. Togami played really well and he is the one who gave Calderano the most hardships. Well done Togami. That play was just beautiful. Congratulations to Calderano as he advances to the quarterfinals and will fight Alexi LeBron. What do you think of this incredible matchup? Lights out table tennis. 10-9 in the 7. Togami still going.