Table tennis: Fukuhara to join Beijing club of China's top league

Asian Economic News, Dec 29, 2004

TOKYO, Dec. 24 Kyodo

Japanese table tennis player Ai Fukuhara will join Chinese Super League powerhouse Beijing on a one-year professional contract, table tennis officials said Friday.

Fees for tournament appearances and victory bonuses feature in the deal for Fukuhara, which will run from next April and take her from Japan to China according to her match schedule in the toughest women's table tennis league in the world.

Fukuhara's father Takehiko said the deal was confirmed Wednesday between team officials and the 16-year-old, who is currently training in Shenyang, Liaoning Province in northeastern China.

Fukuhara is expected to focus on singles matches for Beijing, which have world No. 1 and Athens Olympic singles champion Zhang Yining in its lineup of top-ranked players.

Fukuhara finished in the last 16 of the Athens Olympic singles tournament this past summer. In September, she played in a lower-tier Chinese league located below the Super League.