The duo of Andy Pereira and Jorge Moisés Campos made history tonight by winning the first Pan American gold medal for a Cuban men’s pair. After almost 20 years of playing together, Andy and Jorge Moisés made their dream come true.

“We are facing a very quality Brazilian couple. Hugo Calderano is world number four and Vitor Ishiy also has a good level. But we always thought we would get there if we tried hard,” Andy Pereira said in the mixed zone.

The Cubans lost the first set of the match, but then recovered. “We got into our game and gained confidence, believing we could. The occasional midterms were difficult for us, but we managed.

Realizing that the tactic worked, they began to minimize mistakes. “Moises and I did not owe this result, because in Lima we lost to Brazil 4-3. I remember we won 3-0 and then they came back. It hurt us a lot, but today we took revenge.

“It’s an honor to win this medal with him, after also winning the title at the Central American Games. Grateful for the support received from everyone, from our technical team, from the leaders of Inder, from the athletes who were there and from those who transmitted good energy to us from Cuba.”

Andy says that during the match, they performed actions that they hadn’t even prepared for in training. My knees are “bare” from diving so hard to catch the balls. He spent more time on the floor than at the table. That is to say, we grew up.”

Jorge Moisés Campos. Photo: Monica RF/JIT.

For his part, the double gold medalist of these Games Jorge Moisés assured that it is a surprise for him to win two titles in Santiago 2023. “It is also a unique feeling, because we come out wanting victory more than the Brazilians. We play like no one else and things came out. “I’m super happy.”

Campos commented that they used the same strategy as in previous matches of the tournament. “We are trying to take the initiative, But we found resistance mainly from Calderano, so in the first set we felt a little out of context, but in the second we changed tactics and everything changed.

With a 3-1 lead, Andy and Jorge Moisés knew they were on the verge of victory, but they didn’t make any mistakes. “We believed we could do it and we held on until the end,” concluded Jorge Moisés.

Cuban table tennis has so far accumulated two gold medals at Santiago 2023, with teamwork and the critical run ahead of the Pan American Games key.

“We had the support of Inder and the Cuban Table Tennis Federation. We created a training base in China for San Salvador 2023, then another here in Chile for these Games. So, we finalize the details, we adapt to the climate.

“The most important thing was the unity and the trust we had,” added Andy Pereira.

Andy and Jorge Moisés celebrate the victory. Photo: Monica RF/JIT.