TOKYO, May 1 (Xinhua) — Japanese desk tennis star Kasumi Ishikawa, who received three ladies’s workforce medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, introduced her retirement on Monday.
The 30-year-old Ishikawa made the announcement in Japanese on Instagram and in Chinese on Weibo.
She mentioned she had determined to name it quits after the WTT Macao in April when she misplaced to China’s Chen Meng within the ladies’s singles spherical of 16.
“The 23-year playing career has brought me precious experiences in my life,” she mentioned. “Starting to play table tennis at 7 and representing Japan in international competitions from 14, I am very happy that many of my dreams have come true.”
Ishikawa, who received 5 nationwide ladies’s singles championships, was a key determine when the Japanese ladies’s workforce received the silver medal, the nation’s first Olympic desk tennis medal, at London 2012. She went on to assist Japan win the ladies’s bronze medal in Rio 2016 and silver once more in Tokyo 2020.
She was very grateful for her Chinese coaches and followers in China.
“I have met many Chinese coaches since high school,” she mentioned. “I also learned Chinese culture and the language from them. I feel happy that I can communicate with fans and friends from China.”