Life of Guangzhou - Guangzhou, A Blessed City for Japanese "Ceramic Doll" Ai Fukuhara

Ai Fukuhara runs in a torch relay in Japan for the the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Not everybody knows about table tennis in Japan. But as a table tennis player, Ai Fukuhara is more popular than the sport itself.

On 1 November, 1988, a baby girl was born in Fukuhara family in Tokyo, and she was given the name Ai, which means a lot of love from her parents. Ai began playing table tennis when she was 3 years old, and with a cute face, attracted a lot of attention of Japanese media.

Up to now, Ai is still one of the most famous female sports stars in Japan. Chinese fans are also familiar with her because she was trained in China since she was very young, and because of her years' training in Guangzhou, China, she was named Friendship Ambassador to bridge friendly ties between China and Japan. On 8 May, Chinese President Hu Jintao played table tennis with Ai when visiting Waseda University where Ai is now studying.

On 8 May, Chinese President Hu Jintao plays table tennis with Ai when visiting Waseda University where Ai is now studying. (Xinhuanet)

In February 2006, Guangdong Provincial Table Tennis Team was training as usual. Among them, a girl with a bag full of Carton accessories also began her course with her private coach, and she is Ai Fukuhara. Arranged by parents, Ai joined Guangdong women table tennis team and took part in the Chinese Table Tennis Super League of that year. This was not the first time for Ai to visit Guangzhou, where she participated in the Toyota Cup competition half a year ago. When mentioning Guangzhou, she said with sweet memories, "I visited the city 2 years ago when attending the Toyota Cup and I felt it very warm and cozy, especially with delicious foods." To her, Guangzhou is a blessed city because here she got her best prize, the third place in Women' s Single of the World Cup Championships.

All the women players in Guangdong team like Ai, and the head coach Yang Huajie praised her as a hard-working team member without treating herself like a star. Yang thinks Ai is already among the mid-top level players in China, but she still works hard. When others leave at 6 PM after training of the day, she is still in her training which often ends at 7. Yang also told journalist that Ai cried twice in less than 10 days in Guangzhou for being unable to finish the movements perfectly.

Though very popular in Japan, Ai never thinks herself as a star, "I am just a table tennis player, not like Jolin Cai who is a real star." When shopping in Guangzhou, she need not wear a hat, since here there won' t be as many people who can recognize her as in Japan. When asked where she shopped, she answered promptly, "Beijing Road."

Ai loves Guangzhou desserts. When being interviewed, she even offered to pay the bill of desserts for the journalists. During this year' s Table tennis super league, Ai was regarded as the best women' s single player of Guangdong team, and was greatly supported by all the audience. Many Japanese media also followed her for interviews. Though the most important foreign aid of Guangdong team, Ai turned down the chance to attend competitions in China to continue her study in Japan. But there is still chance for her to re-join Guangdong team, as she said, "later on there would be many important sports events in Guangzhou, including the Asian Games. Guangdong women' s team is still the best choice for me."

From 24 February to 2 March, 2008, the 49th World Table Tennis Championships was held in Guangzhou Gymnasium. For a player who became one of the best in Japan at five, and got number 8 in Paris World Championships at 14, Ai is a pride of Japanese table tennis. But every coin has two sides. Being a pride also means undertaking more pressure than others. However, Ai is fortunate. She is loved by many, including Guangzhou fans. During this World Championships, to broadcast Ai' s game, Japanese Television station specially bought the right to transmit the game of her table from Guangzhou.

Ai' s cry is famous in the international table tennis community.

On 26 March, Japanese women team competes with Korean women team who is considered to be very strong. Ai was defeated 0 to 2 in the first game, but later Japan tied Korea 2- 2. Ai played with Moon Hyun Jung in the last game, which is the key to the final result. When the game went on to 11 to 10, there is only one score left for Ai to win. Ai then hit the ball and Moon hit it out of the table when returning. All the audience cheered up for Ai' s difficult victory while Ai cried aloud with tears of joy all over her face. Other Japanese coaches and players were also moved by her.

Ai' s cry is famous in the international table tennis community. Most of the time, she cried after being defeated or scolded, while this time she cried to ease her tension. "I know the audience is cheering me on including those Chinese and Japanese. Thank you for the support that encouraged me to win this game."

Ai Fukuhara holds a board marking 'Sino-Japan Friendship'.

Several days later, Ai cried again, this time for Japan's 0 to 3 loss to Singapore during the semi-final of World Team Table Tennis Championships, which made a historical breakthrough of Singapore possible. Ai was the third player to play with Feng Tianwei, but was edged out 0 to 3. After that, she sighed with regretful tears, which moved many of the audience.

Ai 's tears impressed the audience a lot. When asked "Will you still be so vulnerable to tears in the future?" she flushed, "I think I will learn to control my feelings." Yes, Ai is going to be 22 in 2010 when Guangzhou hosts the Asian Games and she will certainly be more strong and mature.

(By Yang Min and Min Min)