Kimie Bessho
![]() Bessho at 2006 World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname | Shiny | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Hiroshima, Japan | 8 December 1947|||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 53 kg (117 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Para table tennis | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | C5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Domani Table Tennis Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kimie Bessho (別所キミヱ, Bessho Kimie, born 8 December 1947) is a Japanese para table tennis player who competes in international level events. She was a bronze medallist at the 2014 Asian Para Games and has participated at the Summer Paralympics four times, she was also one of the oldest participants to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics aged 68 years old. She is often known to wear butterfly hairclips as a superstition for her tournament matches.[1][2]
When Bessho was 39, her husband died from a short illness and two years later, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to use a wheelchair indefinitely after two operations. Bessho began playing table tennis at the age of 45 after being fascinated by the sport and made her debut appearance at the 2004 Summer Paralympics finishing in fifth place.[3]
Career records
source[2]
- 2015 German Open: Singles: 3rd Place
- 2016 Japan Open: 1st Place
- 2016 Slovakia Open: 3rd Place
- 2016 8th Para Table Tennis Championships: 1st Place
- 2016 Paralympic Games 5th Place
- 2017 Asian Para Table Tennis Championships (Beijing): 2nd Place
- 2017 9th Para Table Tennis Championships: 1st Place
- 2017 Thailand Open: 2nd Place
References
- ^ "Kimie Bessho - IPTTF Profile". International Para Table Tennis Federation. 8 August 2020.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Table Tennis - Kimie Bessho". The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Centre. 8 August 2020.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Japan's oldest athlete brings her best to the table". Asia One. 14 September 2016.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
- 1947 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Hiroshima
- People from Akashi, Hyōgo
- Paralympic table tennis players of Japan
- Table tennis players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
- Table tennis players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Table tennis players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
- Table tennis players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics