Japan's Ito to face world no. 2 Ding for Rio bid

At just 15 years old, Ito is the youngest female participant at the Rio 2016 qualifying tournament, and despite her young age she beat her North Korean opponent four games to three.

Published : Apr 13, 2016 22:52 IST , Hong Kong

Ito Mima of Japan defeated North Korea's Kim Song I at Asia qualifiers on Wednesday.
Ito Mima of Japan defeated North Korea's Kim Song I at Asia qualifiers on Wednesday.
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Ito Mima of Japan defeated North Korea's Kim Song I at Asia qualifiers on Wednesday.

Japanese teenager Ito Mima will face World No. 2 Ding Ning in her bid for an Olympic spot after narrowly beating North Korea's Kim Song I at Asia qualifiers on Wednesday.

At just 15 years old, Ito is the youngest female participant at the Rio 2016 qualifying tournament, and despite her young age she beat her North Korean opponent four games to three.

She brushed off nerves ahead of her match against one of China's biggest names, who is also 10 years her senior. "I am not nervous," she said. "I will try to do my best," Ito added, saying her goal was to win at least two games.

Coming up against some tough opponents is nothing new to Ito, who in 2015 eliminated Germany's Petrissa Solja to win the women's singles title at the German Open and became the youngest ever winner in the history of the ITTF World Tour.

In the same tournament she also overcame Singapore's Feng Tianwei, who was number two seed at the time and is now ranked world number seven.

Ito said beating top players previously has given her confidence and that age doesn't matter when it comes to playing the game.

Eleven men and 11 women will be selected at the Asia Olympic Qualifier in Hong Kong, with 23 teams taking part, including a star-studded line-up from China.

Five men and five women will gain places in the first stage as winners of their respective regional zones — Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia — with the qualifiers to be announced Thursday. A second stage will see six more places created.

Also beating expectations at the event was Hong Kong's Doo Hoi-kem, 19, who stunned China's World No. 1 Liu Shiwen four games to two.

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