USA Men’s Team Makes History by Winning Gold at 2024 ITTF Pan American Championships
by USA Table Tennis
From left: (back) Nandan Naresh, Sid Naresh, Coach Mark Hazinski, (front) Kanak Jha and Jishan Liang on the podium with the very first U.S. Men's Team event gold medal at the 2024 ITTF Pan American Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador. October 20, 2024. (Photo by ITTF Americas)
The U.S. Men’s National Team has clinched its first ever gold medal in the Men’s Team event at the 2025 Pan American Championships. Three time Olympian Kanak Jha anchored the team with experienced national team players Jishan Liang, Nandan Naresh and Sid Naresh rounding out the roster.
From the onset, the Men’s team dominated play, defeating Guatemala 3-0 and Ecuador 3-1 with relative ease to face Cuba in the semifinals, putting a medal within reach. USA swept Cuba in the semifinals, winning all 3 matches 3-0 to set up the final showdown against Argentina.
“I felt like our confidence and team spirit were really good. Overall, when you have a team supporting you, you're going to play more comfortably and more to your potential.” – Mark Hazinski, U.S. Men’s National Team Coach.
In the championship match, the U.S. team once again delivered, winning 3-0. Kanak Jha set the pace, leading off with a victory over Horacio Cifuentes 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-7). The Naresh brothers followed up, with Sid overcoming Santiago Lorenzo 3-1, and Nandan closing out Francisco Sanchi at 3-1, sealing the gold medal. Sid’s win against Santiago Lorenzo is notable as Santiago had recently competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after winning the first day of the ITTF Americas Qualification Event back in May.
A proud moment for the U.S., as the men’s team stood atop the podium for the first time in history for this event.
Women’s Team
In the Women’s Team event, Amy Wang, Tiffany Ke, Sally Moyland, and Jessica Reyes Lai earned the bronze medal for the USA. They found early success advancing past Argentina 3-0 before falling to Chile in the semifinals, 0-3. A tough semifinal, as Sally Moyland led 2-1 in the first match before Paulina Vega came back to win 11-9 in the fifth game. The challenging opener set the tone as Daniela Ortega overcame Amy Wang and Zhiying Zeng won over Jessica Reyes-Lai in straight games.
Men’s Singles
In Men’s Singles, Kanak Jha defeated Ramon Villa (DOM) and Rogelio Castro (MEX) before being halted in the quarterfinals by Brazilian favorite and world top 10 player Hugo Calderano, 4-1. Jishan Liang reached the Round of 16 but was eliminated by Edward Ly (CAN). Sid Naresh and younger brother Nandan Naresh both bowed out in the Round of 32 against Eugene Wang (CAN) and Gustavo Gomez (CHI) respectively.
Women’s Singles
Amy Wang secured a bronze medal in the Women’s Singles event after a hard-fought 4-3 loss in the semifinals to her Pan American rival, Bruna Takahashi (BRA). Jessica Reyes Lai impressed with a trip to the women’s quarterfinals. The younger Takahashi sister, Giulia Takahashi, ended the run for Reyes Lai in seven hard fought games.
Women’s Doubles
In the Women’s Doubles event, Sally Moyland and Jessica Reyes Lai advanced past the Dominican Republic pair of Eva Brito and Yasiris Ortiz 3-2 but were edged out 2-3 by Chile’s Paulina Vega and Daniela Ortega in the quarterfinals.
Mixed Doubles
Amy Wang and Jishan Liang finished with a bronze medal in Mixed Doubles, defeating Argentina and Cuba before falling 0-3 to Brazil’s top-seeded duo, Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi in the semifinal.
Overall
The U.S. Team had an outstanding performance at the 2025 ITTF Pan Am Championships bringing home 4 total medals:
- Gold – Men’s Team
- Bronze – Women’s Team
- Bronze – Women’s Singles (Amy Wang)
- Bronze – Mixed Doubles (Amy Wang/Jishan Liang)
