Following a terrific group stage, where he inflicted revenge on Misha Zilberman for an old wound and dispatched the seeded Sai Praneeth, Mark Caljouw fought for his spot in the quarterfinals against a determined Kevin Cordon.
Guatemalan Kevin Cordon is not just inspiring Pan Am with his almighty performances, the player is really shining through in these Olympics, and the Dutchman Mark Caljouw was unluckily not able to stop Cordon from continuing his winning streak in the tightest of three-game duels.
A heartbreaking goodbye to the Olympics
Caljouw was understandably distraught after the defeat. The Dutch player has fought hard to get to the Round of 16, and deservedly so. His first match was against the experienced Israeli player Misha Zilberman, defeating him with the surprise 2019 European Games quarterfinal loss in the back of his mind. In a three-game battle, he managed to get a win that would boost his confidence.
His next opponent would be Sai Praneeth and the Dutch player showed his good level by winning the encounter in straight games. It seemed as if he could make it after such impressive performances, but Cordon wanted to make it to quarterfinals just as much as he did, and the Guatemalan showed it through his play.
- For sure he [Cordon] has the experience, but I think that was my biggest chance to reach the quarterfinals at the Olympics and not making it now, I'm a little bit heartbroken. He played good, he played the way he always plays but I can only blame myself for this, Caljouw said.
Cordon, now four-time Olympian, goes through to the quarterfinals as Caljouw leaves the Olympics with a pessimistic feeling.
- I don't have that many words now. It hurts a lot. It feels really tough, Caljouw stated.
One thing is for sure, he can always look back to having represented the Netherlands on the world’s biggest stage and doing his country proud for all the wins he earned.