 Off track ..... Japanese belle Fukuhara wins over China
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-16 08:01 Talented, doll-faced and fluent in Mandarin, Japanese table tennis player Ai Fukuhara may also be the best thing in years for China-Japan relations. Chinese fans supported her during a tough Olympic match against a Spanish player on Thursday, urging the world No 12 to victory and showing no trace of the animosity that Chinese often reserve for Japan. "She's our Asian player. She's got a fine personality and is truly gorgeous," said Chen Xiao, 34, an IT worker who led his largely male group of friends in enthusiastic cheers for Fukuhara.
"She can make a contribution to our countries' friendship and, by supporting her, we can do a little, too. At the very least, if we don't cheer for her, that would hurt our friendship," he said. Selected as Japan's flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Games because of her popularity in China, Fukuhara is modest about her ability to bring the two countries closer together. "I'd feel quite honored if I'm able to do that," she said. She has, in fact, already done her bit for Sino-Japanese diplomacy. Chinese President Hu Jintao had a brief ping-pong joust with her when he visited Japan in May, the most photogenic part of his trip which was aimed at cementing warming ties between the countries after years of rancor over Japan's wartime aggression. Fukuhara tapped balls at him softly and Hu responded with vicious smashes. In the Olympics so far, she has been harder on her opponents. On Thursday she held her nerve with Japan's hopes of a team medal on the line to take the deciding match against Spain. "Lots of Chinese friends cheered for me. It made me very happy to hear their voices," she said. Agencies (China Daily 08/16/2008 page8) |
