Highest Rated Not from Asia or Europe, Continents Top Woman Leads Challenge
2015 ITTF World Cadet Challenge
Courtesy of ITTF

Asia and Europe, they are the traditionally strong continents in the sport of table tennis; the records at the Olympic Games and World Championships underline those facts indelibly.

It is a lifetime ago since the United States spawned World Champions and those who have stood proudly on the Olympic rostrum have always come from the parts of the globe steeped in the history of the sport.

However, at the forthcoming 2015 ITTF Cadet Challenge to be staged in the Egypt resort of Sharm El-Sheikh the highest rated players on duty in the Cadet Girls’ events do not come from either Asia or Europe.

Latin America
They come from Latin America. Currently listed at no.5 on the Under 15 Girls’ World Rankings, Adriana Diaz leads the line alongside Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi, who named one place lower.

Guatemala’s Lucia Cordero and the Dominican Republic’s Esmerlyn Castro complete the team.

Notable Success
Both Adriana Diaz and Bruna Takahashi have enjoyed notable success this year; both have ITTF Junior Circuit titles to their credit.

Bruna Takahashi won in Paraguay and Puerto Rico; the result is that currently she is listed in top spot on the Junior Girls’ Standings and is assured of an invitation to the Finals to be staged in the Indian city of Indore in January.

Won in Croatia
Meanwhile, after competing on the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Austria and Belgium, Adriana Diaz won both the Junior Girls’ Singles and Cadet Girls’ Singles titles in Croatia.

The effect was that on the Under 15 Girls’ World Rankings, Adriana Diaz maintained her no.5 status as did Bruna Takahashi, one place below at no.6; however, that was not the only effect.

Leading Name
Announced on Thursday October 8th, at the 14 years and 342 days old, Adriana Diaz moved from no.145 on the Women’s World Rankings to no.114; the elevation makes her the highest globally rated female player in the whole of Latin America.

She leapfrogged Brazil’s Gui Lin to ascend to the top spot. Gui Lin dropped one place to no.133.
Next in line, Caroline Kumahara, also from Brazil, moved from no.150 to no.137 whilst Bruna Takahashi made the quite dynamic move from no.172 to no.139.

Youngest Ever
Adriana Diaz is the youngest player ever to be listed at no.1 on the Latin American Women’s Rankings; currently she is the youngest in any continent in the world to hold such a status.

Furthermore, she is no doubt the youngest ever to hold such a distinction since the International Table Tennis Federation was formed in 1926.

First
The elevation means that at the 2015 ITTF Cadet Challenge, Latin America will not only field two of the leading players in the World in that age group; they will field the players who in the continent are the no.1 and no.4 rated players.

Surely two of the four leading women from any one continent on duty is a first and in a different way, could there be a first for Latin America, first place for the first time?

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