Ai Fukuhara
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Ai Fukuhara (福原 愛 Fukuhara Ai?) is a Japanese table tennis player, born November 1, 1988 in the city of Sendai (Miyagi Prefecture). She uses short pimples on the backhand and reversed rubber on the forehand.
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[edit] History
Following her mother, Chiyo Fukuhara, into the world of table tennis, she began playing at the age of 3 and became a professional at age 10. The following year, she became the youngest player ever to become a member of the Japanese national team. At age 13 (in 2002), she reached the quarterfinals of the Japan table tennis championship. In the following year, she finished fifth in the world championship in Paris. In 2004, she took part in the world team championships and helped Team Japan finish third. She also speaks good Chinese. She attended Aomori Yamada Junior High School and graduated from Aomori Yamada High School in 2007. Both schools are located in the city of Aomori (Aomori Prefecture).
As of May 1, 2008, she was ranked #13 in the ITTF rankings (the highest ranked Japanese player). As of the same date, she is also ranked #3 of players under 21, a position she has held since December 2006. [1]
[edit] Olympic participation
Fukuhara participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens at the age of 15, reaching the round of 16 in her first Olympic Games.
| Round | Result | Opponent's Country | Opponent | Score | By Match | Official Link | ||||||
| 1st | Bye | |||||||||||
| 2nd | W |  Australia |
Miao Miao | 4-3 | 5-11 | 7-11 | 11-9 | 11-6 | 11-6 | 9-11 | 11-9 | [2] |
| 3rd | W |  United States |
Jun Gao | 4-0 | 11-3 | 11-6 | 11-8 | 11-9 | [3] | |||
| 4th | L |  South Korea |
Kyung Ah Kim (金景娥) |
1-4 | 8-11 | 5-11 | 11-7 | 13-15 | 6-11 | [4] | ||
[edit] Popularity
Her first name Ai means "love" and she is often referred to as "Ai-chan" (愛ちゃん) in Japan. Her youth and talent has made her a popular sports star in Japan, especially among young students. She carried the Olympic flame when it traveled to Tokyo in 2004. She carried the torch once again for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Ai Fukuhara has appeared in two Japanese table tennis video games, including Fukuhara Ai No Takkyū Icchokusen (Ai Fukuhara's Table Tennis), released on June 24, 2004 and Ikuze! Onsen Takkyū!! (Got to do! Hot Spring Table Tennis!!), released December 21, 2001, both for the PlayStation 2.
In September 2005 Fukuhara Ai guest starred alongside Chinese actor Jackie Chan during the opening of a photograph exhibition, in Roppongi Hills, to celebrate 60 years of peaceful coexistence between China and Japan. In 2007 she was accepted in the prestigious Waseda University which she now attends.
