Ai Fukuhara

Ai Fukuhara
Ai Fukuhara at the Table Tennis Pro Tour Grand Finals 2011
Nickname(s)	Ai-chan
Nationality	Japan
Born	(1988-11-01) 1 November 1988 (age 28) Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Playing style	Right-handed, Shakehand grip
Highest ranking	4 (November 2015)
Current ranking	12 (December 2016)
Height	155 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Weight	48 kg (106 lb)

Ai Fukuhara (福原 愛, Fukuhara Ai^?, born 1 November 1988) is a Japanese table tennis player and Olympic medallist, winning silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics . She is sponsored by All Nippon Airways. She has stayed in Germany with Chiang Hung-chieh who is her husband (September 2016 - ).

Fukuhara 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. Because of her age, she has been regarded as a "child prodigy" in table tennis. At age 13, in 2002, she became the youngest-ever Japanese representative for the Asian Games. In 2003, she reached the quarter-final, losing to top-seeded Zhang Yining, in her World Championships debut in Paris. In 2004, she took part in the World Team Championships and helped Team Japan finish third.

Fukuhara qualified to participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics in the Asian zone qualifying tournament. The qualification entitled Fukuhara to compete in Athens, at the age of 15 years and 287 days, as the youngest-ever female table tennis player to debut in the Olympic Games. She reached the round of 16 in her first Olympic Games, losing to bronze medalist Kim Kyung-Ah.

In April 2005, Fukuhara replaced compatriot Aya Umemura and became the highest-ranked Japanese female on the ITTF World Ranking list. She advanced to the semifinals at the 2005 Women's World Cup, losing to Guo Yan in the semifinals but beating Tie Ya Na in the third place match.