SD Sport

Ishikawa Kasumi, Japanese table tennis Olympic medalist, decides to retire

Japanese three-time Olympic table tennis medalist Ishikawa Kasumi says she has decided to retire.

Ishikawa made the announcement on her official website and social media accounts on Monday.

Ishikawa wrote that the decision comes as she feels that she has given everything she has. She added that she will hold a news conference on May 18 to explain her decision.

Ishikawa is a 30-year-old native of Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan. She took up table tennis when she was 7 years old.

Ishikawa became the singles national champion for the first time in 2011 with her forehand drives and rallying skills.

She claimed Japan's first Olympic medal in the sport when she took silver in the women's team event at the 2012 London Games. She also clinched bronze in the same event four years later in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and took home silver in the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Ishikawa and compatriot Yoshimura Maharu became the mixed doubles world champions in 2017, getting Japan's first gold in a table tennis world championship in 38 years.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230501_16/