Successful some seven months ago when the tournament was held in November, on Saturday 9th July, Argentina’s Elias Romero retained his men’s singles class 5 title at the ITTF Copa Tango 2022 in Buenos Aires.
On the second day of play, he recorded a semi-final success in opposition to colleague, Mauro Depergola (9-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7), prior to securing the top prize at the expense of Great Britain’s Simon Heaps (8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 15-13).
The title defended successfully, the win was as status advised; Elias Romero commenced play, the top seed.
“It was very hard, intense, I felt I was the favourite and that gives you pressure; I psyched myself up to play game by game; I had to understand the pressure and turn it into something that motivated me in every game. What I did best was keep my cool, I was tactically organised. When I made mistakes I didn’t give up.” Elias Romero
Notably, Simon Heaps was a player in form; at the recent Stag 2022 European Veteran Championships in Rimini, he had won men’s singles class 1-5.
“I came here following several ups and downs; this win is very important to me, it adds a few more points to my world ranking. It is beautiful to play in your own country, with your family watching you. Honestly it was a beautiful tournament in Argentina.” Elias Romero
Now, Elias Romero partners Gabriel Copola in men’s doubles class 8, Maria Garrone in mixed doubles class 7.