Table Tennis Star Fukuhara Announces Retirement

October 22, 2018

Tokyo- Table tennis star Ai Fukuhara, a four-time Olympian for Japan, announced her decision to retire from competition on her blog Sunday.

"I've come to feel that I've fulfilled my mission as a player," said the 29-year-old two-time Olympic medalist. Fukuhara won her second Olympic medal in a team competition in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

That year, she married Chiang Hung-chieh, a Taiwanese table tennis player who participated in the games, and started a break from competition. The couple had their first child in October last year.

When starting the break, Fukuhara expressed a wish to return to competition. "I hope to open up a new path for those who come after me by making further efforts," she said.

Now her blog said, "I've come to feel strongly that I've done what I can as a player and made every possible effort."

Fukuhara is an executive of T.League, Japan's new table tennis league. Its first season is set to open Wednesday.

Looking ahead, she said on her blog, "I believe I can contribute more to the table tennis world and the sports world at large, including by creating an environment that makes it easier for younger-generation athletes to grow."

Fukuhara started playing table tennis at 3. Touted as a young genius, she also earned the title of a crybaby after television programs showed her crying while rallying on and on with her mother.

Fukuhara sparked a table tennis boom in Japan, leading many people to start playing the sport at very young ages.

She participated in the Olympics for four straight times since the 2004 Athens Games. She won silver in the 2012 London Games and bronze in the Rio Games, both as a member of Japanese women's team. Jiji Press