Ai Fukuhara facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ai Fukuhara
Fukuhara at the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Ai-chan
Born	(1988-11-01) 1 November 1988 (age 36) Sendai, Japan
Playing style	Right-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking	4 (October 2015)
Height	155 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Medal record Women's table tennis Representing  Japan Olympic Games Silver 2012 London Team Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Championships Silver 2016 Kuala Lumpur Team Bronze 2004 Doha Team Bronze 2006 Bremen Team Bronze 2008 Guangzhou Team Bronze 2010 Moscow Team Bronze 2011 Rotterdam Mixed doubles Asian Games Silver 2014 Incheon Team Bronze 2002 Busan Team Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Singles Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Doubles Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Mixed doubles Bronze 2014 Incheon Mixed doubles Asian Championships Silver 2003 Bangkok Doubles Bronze 2005 Jeju-do Doubles Bronze 2009 Lucknow Mixed doubles Bronze 2012 Macau Team Bronze 2013 Busan Team

Ai Fukuhara (福原 愛, Fukuhara Ai, born 1 November 1988) is a retired Japanese table tennis player. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Both medals were with the Japanese women's team. She was sponsored by All Nippon Airways.

Ai Fukuhara's Table Tennis Journey

Ai Fukuhara started playing table tennis when she was only 3 years old. She became a professional player at age 10. The next year, she was the youngest player ever to join the Japanese national team. Because she started so young, people called her a "child prodigy" in table tennis.

At 13, in 2002, she was the youngest Japanese player to represent her country at the Asian Games. In 2003, she reached the quarter-finals in her first World Table Tennis Championships in Paris. In 2004, she helped Team Japan win a bronze medal at the World Team Championships.

Ai Fukuhara at the Olympics

Fukuhara qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She was 15 years old, making her the youngest female table tennis player to ever debut at the Olympic Games. She reached the round of 16 in her first Olympics.

Fukuhara also played in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She was chosen to carry the Japanese flag at the opening ceremony. She played in the women's team event, but her team lost in the bronze medal match. In the singles event, she reached the round of 16.

At the London 2012 Olympic Games, Fukuhara qualified again. In the Women's Team Event, she helped Japan reach their first-ever Olympic table tennis final. Japan won a silver medal, which was Fukuhara's first Olympic medal!

She also played in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Her team won a bronze medal by defeating Singapore. This was her second Olympic medal. In the singles event, she finished in 4th place.

Winning Medals in Other Competitions

In April 2005, Fukuhara became the highest-ranked Japanese female table tennis player in the world. She reached the semifinals at the 2005 Table Tennis World Cup.

At the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games, Ai Fukuhara won a gold medal in Women's Doubles with Kasumi Ishikawa.

The ITTF Kuwait Open 2010 was a very successful competition for Ai. She surprised many by beating strong players from China. She almost won the final match, losing by a very close score of 3-4.

In 2013, Fukuhara won the Japan Open title. She beat two top Chinese opponents to reach the final. She said winning in front of her home crowd was very special.

Retirement from Table Tennis

Ai Fukuhara announced that she was retiring from table tennis in October 2018. She later shared a kind message about her role model, Ding Ning, when Ding also retired in 2021.

Why Ai Fukuhara is Popular

Ai Fukuhara's first name, Ai, means "love" in Japanese. People in Japan often call her "Ai-chan," which is a cute nickname. Her young age and amazing talent made her a very popular sports star in Japan.

She even appeared in two Japanese table tennis video games for the PlayStation 2. She also carried the Olympic flame when it came to Tokyo in 2004. She carried the torch again for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. She was also the flag bearer for Japan at the opening ceremonies.

Ai Fukuhara is also very popular in China. This is because she has played table tennis there since she was young. She can speak fluent Mandarin Chinese with a special accent from northeastern China. This made her more popular in China than other non-Chinese table tennis players. She has often promoted friendship between China and Japan. For example, she played table tennis with Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2008.

Ai Fukuhara's Personal Life

Fukuhara went to Aomori Yamada Junior High School and Aomori Yamada High School. In 2007, she started studying sports science at Waseda University. However, she decided to leave in 2010 to focus on her table tennis career.

As a teenager, Fukuhara trained with the China national table tennis team. She became good friends with world champion players like Wang Nan and Guo Yue. Her ability to speak Mandarin and her friendly personality made her a beloved sports celebrity among Chinese fans.

Fukuhara married Taiwanese table tennis player Chiang Hung-chieh in 2016. They had a daughter in 2017 and a son in 2019. They later separated.

See also

In Spanish: Ai Fukuhara para niños