What's Hot this Week - 20/04/12

Crazy news emerging from the Spanish open where WR 50 player Matilda Ekholm has been beaten by Japan's surprise star, 11 year old Mima Ito. Mima, a winner of last year's Chinese Taipei Junior and Cadet Open has now qualified through to the main draw of the ITTF World Tour Spanish Open. Qualifying for the main draw of a World Tour is no mean feat, but for an 11 year old, it's simply outstanding.

11 year old Mima Ito

Don't be fooled though, Mima has currently achieved a world ranking of 192, a great achievement for one so young and a sign of changing times. Japan are breeding a generation of fantastic table tennis performers, it is positive to see, perhaps in 5 years time Mima will be challenging China's best, certainly she has taken one very big step towards that end. We will watch with interest!