(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT)

Japan’s talented Satsuki Odo will continue her climb in the World Rankings as the 21 year old captured her third tour win at this week’s WTT Contender Series event.  The event was in Taiyuan, China and Odo was the only non-Chinese player to win an event.

Odo entered the event as the top seed, and did not trail in a single match.  She logged a 3-0 win over Doo Hoi Kem, a d3-1 win over Su Tsz Tung, a 3-2 win over Sakura Yokoi, a 3-0 win over Honoka Hashimoto in the Semis, and a 4-1 Finals win over Hitomi Sato.

The Chinese team was likely disappointed with the result of their second tier of players competing in this Contender event.  They had 8 women in the draw, and only one reached the Semifinals.  That one, Shi Xunyao, fell 0-3 to Hitomi Sato.  Japan, on the other hand, had 9 players enter and ended with three reaching the Semifinals – a solid result.  The highlight of the event is the five foot tall Satsuki Odo, but this week the petite Odo was just the tip of the spear for a very successful group of Japanese players.

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