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Japanese 13-year-old Phenom Advances over USA Chopper

By Larry Hodges

Ai "Ai-chan" Fukuhara is interviewed after a match. Photo by Larry Hodges, copyright 2002.

Fukuhara, known in Japan as "Ai-chan," advanced to the final 32 in women's singles by defeating USA's Virginia Sung. Sung, a chopper who made the final of women's singles at the last U.S. Nationals, pushed Ai-chan, ranked 67 in the world, to seven games before succombing. Down 3-1, Sung won the next two by combining defense and sudden smashes of Ai-chan's loop. In the seventh, however, Ai-chan opened with her backhand (where she has medium-long pips), and Sung found herself chopping weakly or stuck in weak countering rallies which Ai-chan would win easily. Ai-chan led 9-2 in the seventh in winning -8,8,5,2,-7,-3,4. 

So how does Ai-chan, who turned 13 in November, get a ranking of 67 in the world (#7 in Japan), become a craze in Japan and do her homework on time? 

To start with, she practices nine hours a day. You read that right. She made the Japanese team at age 11, and has been the hope of Japan ever since. She was actually famous in both Japan and the world years before that as a prodigy who, when barely taller than the table, was touring the country giving exhibitions and dominating tournaments against others her age - sort of the Tiger Woods of Japanese table tennis. Only now, she's moving onto the world stage.

Ai-chan even has an online video game with herself as a character. In it, you can choose her to be your onscreen "heroine," or choose from a cast of other characters. The game is at 

http://www.ncsx.com/ncs010101/table_tennis.htm

In the next round, Ai-chan will play Lin Ling of Hong Kong, ranked #8 in the world. Win or lose, that'll be a match to watch ... to see the future.

Other news - Canada's Petra Cada, ranked 167 in the world, upset world #37 Olga Nemes of Germany to advance to the final 32.

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