Kasumi Ishikawa
| Kasumi Ishikawa | ||||||||||||||||||
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| File:Kasumi Ishikawa at 2007 Volkswagen Open Japan.jpg Ishikawa at 2007 Volkswagen Open Japan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Japan | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 23, 1993[1] Fukuoka | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 51 kg (112 lb; 8.0 st) | |||||||||||||||||
Table tennis career  | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing style | Left-handed, Shakehand grip | |||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 5 (June 2012)[3] | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kasumi Ishikawa (石川 佳純, Ishikawa Kasumi) (born February 23, 1993 at Fukuoka, Japan) is a female Japanese table tennis player.[1] Her entire family consisting of her father, mother and younger sister play table tennis. She has a younger sister; Rira Ishikawa who is also a professional table tennis player while her mother Kumi Ishikawa is her current coach. She is a left-hander shakehand wielder. Her ambition was to play in the Olympics. This dream of hers began when she was just a little girl revealed upon graduation from Hirakawa Primary School in Yamaguchi, which she attended. She wrote in the yearbook of her dream to play in the Olympics.[4] She first got public attention when she managed to defeat high school and even university students in her first ever All Japan Table Tennis Championships. Since 2007, she has won the All Japan Table Tennis Championships - female junior division; four years in a row.[5] She was also nicknamed Ai-Chan II a comparison to fellow country athlete Ai Fukuhara, who also started playing table tennis at a young age. She models her underspeed serve after her.
Her talent for table tennis was due partly to her parents, both former table tennis players, who gave Ishikawa special training since young. Her mother, Kumi Ishikawa had also played on the national level. In the autumn of her first year of primary school, a special practice area in their house was erected to help her train more seriously. After graduating from primary school, Ishikawa decided to live away from home and devote her life to her table tennis career. She entered Shitennoji Habikigaoka Middle School and then Shitennoji High School in Osaka Prefecture. She practiced with all-Japan-Class players until late at night including holidays. Her aggressive attacking style coupled with formidable speed were developed from there. She began working towards the Olympics and played in international tournaments representing her club; ZEN-NOH, Japan.
She competed at the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships, reaching the quarter final of the singles competition. In 2011, she won the national singles title at the age of 17.[6] She quickly rose through the world rankings in recent years and managed to secure a place to compete at the London 2012 Olympics. She is currently ranked 6th in the ITTF women's world ranking as of July 2012 but has achieved ranking as high as 5th.[3] She is now the best female table tennis player in Japan after managing to overtake Ai Fukuhara in rankings.
She reached the semi-finals of the Women's Singles at the London 2012 Olympics but lost out to eventual gold medal winner; Li Xiaoxia of China. In the bronze medal play-off, she lost out to eventual winner; Feng Tianwei of Singapore. She finished an overall 4th position. This was her first ever Olympics participation and despite her tender age of 19, she was seeded no. 4 at the Women's Singles Event. She is also the first ever Japanese to have reached the semi-finals of the tournament.
Career records
Singles (as of March 6, 2012)[7]
- Asian Cup: 3rd (2007).
- World Championships: QF (2009).
- World Tour winner (2): Morocco Open 2010, Chile Open 2011.
- World Tour Grand Finals: QF (2011).
- Asian Championships: QF (2012).
- Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics: 4th (2012).
Women's Doubles
- World Championships: round of 16 (2011).
- Pro Tour winner (5): Morocco Open 2009; German, Morocco, Hungarian Open 2010; Chile Open 2011.
- Pro Tour Grand Finals: runner-up (2011).
- Asian Games: SF (2010).
Mixed Doubles
- World Championships: round of 16 (2011).
- Asian Games: SF (2010).
- Asian Championships: QF (2009).
Team
- World Championships: 3rd (2008, 10).
- World Team Cup: 2nd (2011); 3rd (2009, 10).
References
- ^ a b "ITTF players' profiles". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ "ISHIKAWA Kasumi - Biography". gz2010.cn. Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ a b "ITTF world ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^ http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/T120802005462.htm
- ^ "Winners at the All Japan Table Tennis Championships – Junior Division" (in Japanese). Japan Table Tennis Association. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ "Schoolgirl wins women's national table tennis crown". Kyodo News. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ "ITTF Statistics". International Table Tennis Federation. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
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