Japanese table tennis star Kasumi Ishikawa
Japanese table tennis star Kasumi Ishikawa announced her retirement, who won three women’s team medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, The 30-year-old Ishikawa made the announcement in Japanese on Instagram and in Chinese on Weibo.
She said she had decided to call it quits after the WTT Macau in April when she lost to China’s Chen Meng in the women’s singles round of 16.
She expressed that her 23-year career as a table tennis player has been invaluable to her life. She began playing at the age of 7 and started representing Japan in global competitions when she was 14. She is delighted that a significant number of her aspirations have been fulfilled.
Ishikawa, who won five national women’s singles championships, was a key figure when the Japanese women’s team won the silver medal, the country’s first Olympic table tennis medal, at London 2012. She went on to help Japan win the women’s bronze medal in Rio 2016 and silver again in Tokyo 2020.
She was very thankful for her Chinese coaches and fans in China. “I have met many Chinese coaches since high school,” she said. “I also learned Chinese culture and the language from them. I feel happy that I can communicate with fans and friends from China.”
