TOKYO, Oct. 21 -- Japanese table tennis star Ai Fukuhara announced on Sunday that she is retiring from competition.
"Recently, I've found the answers within myself that I have been searching for. From the standpoint of an athlete, I'm drawing the line here," she wrote on her blog.
"I first gripped a racket at the age of three years and nine months, turned professional at 10 and began playing for the national team at 11," she wrote, adding that it had been a long journey.
As the Japanese young players are making fast progress, she said she could now retire and hoped to continue to make contribution to table tennis and the sports communities.
The 29-year-old Fukuhara was regarded as a "child prodigy" in table tennis in Japan. She went to China for training at a very young age and can speak fluent Mandarin with a northeastern accent.
The Japanese women's table tennis team led by Fukuhara won the silver at the London Olympics in 2017 and the bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Fukuhara married a table tennis player from Chinese Taipei in 2016, gave birth to a baby girl last year and has not competed since.
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修3.2《Healthy eating》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修2.3《Computers》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修5.3《Life in the future》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮复习必备单词素材：Unit 20 New Frontiers（北师大版）
2017届高考英语一轮复习必备单词素材：Unit 23 Conflict（北师大版）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修3.5《Canada—“The True North”》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修4.3《A taste of English humour》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修5.1《Great scientists》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块5.2《the environment》（原卷版）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块5.1《getting along with others 》（原卷版）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修1.3《Travel journal》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：选修6.2《Poems》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修1.5《Nelson Mandela—a modern hero》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修5.5《First aid》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块7.1《living with technology》（原卷版）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修2.2《The Olympic Games》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修1.2《English around the world》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块6.3《understanding each other》（原卷版）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块5.3《science and nature》（原卷版）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修2.1《Cultural relics》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：选修7.1《Living well》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修4.5《Theme parks》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修2.5《Music》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修5.2《The United Kingdom》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块7.2《fit for life》（原卷版）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块7.4《public transport》（解析版）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修4.4《Body language》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮复习必备单词素材：Unit 22 Environmental Protection（北师大版）
2017届高考英语一轮全册复习课时作业：必修1.4《Earthquakes》（新人教版含解析）
2017届高考英语一轮模块复习学案：模块4.3《tomorrow’s world》（原卷版）