Table Tennis Star Fukuhara Announces Retirement

   Tokyo, Oct. 21 (Jiji Press)--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."

(2018/10/22-00:33)

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