Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1438671
40 Winter 2021 ITF World Le Oda is a fan of mar al arts and also plays the guitar Below right The teenager starred at the 2021 BNP Paribas World Team Cup Below le He is s ll only 15 years of age " The likes of Shingo and Yui gave me a dream and made me want to challenge myself." but also because I'm ready to be the best in the world," he added. "I really think I can be, while outside of competition, I want to be a person who can be a dream for boys and girls with the same disease." Oda lives in Ichinomiya, the city of his birth, which is an hour-long flight from Tokyo, where the rescheduled Olympic and Paralympic Games were held earlier this year. An interested observer on this occasion, Oda is not shy of stating his desire to follow in the footsteps of four-time Paralympic champion Shingo Kuneida and Yui Kamiji, who both navigated the gauntlet of pressure to medal on home soil in September. "My athletic goal is to win the Paralympics three times in a row," declared Oda. "But I'm only thinking about winning the Paris Paralympics. In 2024, I will be 18 years old, which still seems to be young in the eyes of the world, but I want to establish my own tennis style and create a unique style of play before I reach that age. "The likes of Shingo and Yui gave me a dream and made me want to challenge myself. I am truly grateful for that and that is why I want to be a person who gives dreams." The way in which Oda has announced himself in 2021 suggests his emergence under the wheelchair tennis spotlight is more than a momentary dalliance. As such, it may very well be worth keeping tabs on this superstar- in-waiting over the coming months and years. Tokito Oda: remember the name. n TOKITO ODA