CCTV News:If one day any foreign table tennis player can win a medal in the Olympic Games, I hope it is Fukuhara Ai;
If one day I can only support one foreign table tennis player, I think it will be Fukuhara Ai.
There are less than 100 days before 2019 and less than two years before the Tokyo Olympic Games, so without warning or a trace of preparedness, Fukuhara Ai told us that he had retired.
Fukuhara Ai Weibo announced his retirement.
Fukuhara Ai is probably the first Japanese athlete who received a blessing from netizens in China because of his retirement. As of press time, the Weibo that she announced her retirement has received more than 70,000 reposts, more than 70,000 comments and more than 620,000 likes. I wish her a happy life.
Fukuhara Ai is probably the first Japanese athlete who "alarmed" the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China because of his retirement. At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 22nd, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Fukuhara Ai was "loved not only by the Japanese people, but also by many people in China" and was "very cute, and also had outstanding performance in the field of table tennis".
As of press time, Fukuhara Ai announced his retirement from Weibo’s comment 7w+, forwarded 7w+ and liked 62w+
Fukuhara Ai, who has a round face and a crisp smile, can be said to be a Japanese athlete "watched and grown up" by netizens from China and Japan. Fukuhara Ai has been training under the guidance of coach China since he was five years old. In the long run, Fukuhara Ai has also forged a deep friendship with China players and even China. In addition to being beaten and crying in the game, Xiao Ai also shed tears in the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. She has always been a lively wave and she is quite depressed in front of the reporter’s camera. "Japan went to 60 people (rescue), so xx is not enough. I am going, at least 61 people." It is this lovely appearance that left a deep impression on China fans, and Fukuhara Ai also had a nickname "porcelain doll". Familiar fans can know a little about her.
Knowing that four-year-old Xiao Ai participated in the national competition for the first time, she lost her shoes happily when winning, and cried in her mother’s arms after losing; Knowing Xiao Ai’s stubbornness with tears in her eyes and insisting on finishing the training task; Knowing that Xiaoai can say "dry ha" with an authentic northeast accent, knowing that Xiaoai and table tennis players have close feelings, he brings him Japanese cookies every time he meets ZhangJike; I also know that Xiao Ai fought against the three generations of big devils of China table tennis women’s team from Zhang Yining to Li Xiaoxia and then to Ding Ning … …
The great devil of running water, Fukuhara Ai made of iron. Fukuhara Ai rarely wins against China athletes in international competitions, and his career has been shrouded in the shadow of the "big devil" of table tennis, which is helpless. The advantage of China table tennis team, especially the women’s team, over other players is hellish.
Fukuhara Ai made his first sound after he announced his retirement, thanking the fans in China and China.
It’s really distressing that Fukuhara Ai tried her best but couldn’t win, but that doesn’t prevent her from making great contributions to the rapid development of Japanese table tennis. He was selected to the national team at the age of 12 and made his Olympic debut at the age of 15. From 2003 to 2016, Xiao Ai gradually became the absolute core and leader of Japanese women’s table tennis. The younger generation regards her as an idol. Japanese table tennis player Ito Meicheng once said: "Looking at Captain Fukuhara, I know very well that it is not easy for her to bear the name of Japan. If I can become a captain in the future, I also want to be a player like her."
Under her leadership and influence, a new generation of Japanese players also became attached to China. These players, who were trained in China since childhood, or developed under the training of China coaches and sparring partners, helped Japanese table tennis to make rapid progress, but also laid a deep "China brand". With Fukuhara Ai, a beloved predecessor, as an example, they also gained a lot of "audience affinity" in China.
More importantly, with Fukuhara Ai’s great concern and the continuous improvement of Japanese table tennis level represented by her, the Japan Table Tennis Association is also making great efforts to develop this sport. Since 2003, the Japan Table Tennis Association has established a national team for primary school students, adjusted the training mechanism of age groups, conducted regular closed training and overseas competitions, and strengthened the training of grassroots coaches. In 2008, the Japan Table Tennis Association built a national training center in Tokyo, and absorbed some professionals including coaches from China and other places, which became the training base of the Japanese table tennis team. Moreover, the Japanese table tennis team has established a system of substituting competition for training, and specially trained a group of players to participate in the world series of adult groups from the age of fifteen or sixteen, which made them feel the atmosphere of the competition ahead of the players of the same age in our country and increased their competition experience.
In the past two or three years, we can see that although the national table tennis still has absolute advantages, Japanese table tennis has made rapid progress. On the men’s team, Zhang Benzhihe, whose parents are both from China, has defeated Malone, ZhangJike and Fan Zhendong successively. On the women’s team, Meicheng Ito defeated the world champion Liu Shiwen in this year’s team table tennis World Cup finals. It can be seen that Japan’s challenge model to China has taken shape.
As we all know, from the ITTF to the national associations, from the constant changes in table tennis materials to the changes in the points system and the addition of mixed doubles, it is a "clear thing" to try to limit the absolute advantage of China, and the China table tennis team is also happy in this "encirclement and suppression". Because in the long run, it will do more good than harm to table tennis and the China team. After all, for sports, only more intense competition and stronger suspense can attract more audiences and promote the technical level to a higher level.
Next, Tokyo, Japan, in 2020 is the focus of preparation and competition between China and Japan in the past four years.
Wait and see!
(Text/Liu Chang Zhu Xinyu)
