Ishikawa Kasumi's saying goodbye to table tennis: "I left everything out there"
The 30-year-old Ishikawa calls it a career as the only Japanese to medal at three successive Olympic Games. "I'm very much at peace today," she said.
Table Tennis
Ishikawa Kasumi always took pride in playing until the last drop.
And because Ishikawa did that for 23 years, she knew when she had nothing more to give to table tennis - and when to walk.
“I decided to retire because I felt like I left everything out there,” Ishikawa said on Thursday (18 May) at her retirement press conference attended by close to 150 reporters.
“I’m very much at peace today. I’m happy, grateful to be welcoming this day with a smile on my face.
“I started playing table tennis at the age of 7 and I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy so many wonderful experiences.
“I won medals at three straight Olympics in London, Rio and Tokyo, and became No. 1 in the world in mixed doubles. I will never forget the view that day.”
Ishikawa, 30, had announced that she was calling it a career on 1 May via Instagram after failing to qualify for the upcoming ITTF World Table Tennis Championships.
The Yamaguchi Prefecture native made her national team debut when she was 14, and is a three-time Olympic medallist in the women’s team event (silver at London 2012, Tokyo 2020, and bronze at Rio 2016).
She is the only Japanese paddler to have medalled at three successive Games, and also won the mixed doubles title at the 2017 worlds.
For long, Ishikawa was the face of Japanese women’s table tennis, as a successor to Fukuhara Ai and mentor to the current generation of stars like Ito Mima, Hirano Miu and Hayata Hina. The only thing missing from Ishikawa’s career was the top international individual honours.
Ishikawa said she decided to put down her paddle for good after Singapore Smash in March.
Her last match was against long-time Chinese rival and friend Chen Meng at WTT Champions Macao last month. Ishikawa lost 3-1.
“I’m proud that I competed at three Olympic Games, which was my lifelong dream, and that I held my own on the international stage for 10 years against the world’s top-ranked players.
“Everything was a dream for me in elementary school but little by little, they became a realistic goal for me to achieve. The joy I gained in achieving goals one by one is something I learned through table tennis.”
Ishikawa - who is currently touring the country organising clinics for children - is keeping her future options wide open. She wants to take the time to study, and would one day like to do some work in China where she remains hugely popular.
Ishikawa was most emotional on this afternoon when she began addressing her fans.
“Last but not least I want to say thank you to the fans. They were always with me through thick and thin, and I’m so blessed to have competed with such people behind me.
“I’m not sure how I’ve been able to give back to them but I always gave it everything I had on any given day, doing the best that I can. It was all about being 100 per cent in practice or in competitions. That was important to me.
“If I managed to inspire or make someone feel better by them watching me play, I couldn’t be happier.
“Table tennis made me grow - I was raised by the sport. For 23 years, I was captivated by it.”