Japanese women's table tennis standout Kasumi Ishikawa said Thursday she felt the time was right to wrap up her distinguished career.
The 30-year-old winner of three Olympic women's team medals and five national singles championships looked back fondly on her time in the sport while addressing her retirement press conference in Tokyo.
"I feel like I've completed things," Ishikawa said. "It's a really positive feeling."
Members of the Japanese table tennis community credited Ishikawa for taking the sport to new heights in Japan after she announced her retirement earlier this month.
The left-handed player was part of the Japanese women's team that won the country's first Olympic table tennis medal, a silver, at the 2012 London Games.
She helped the Japanese women claim team bronze four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and silver again in Tokyo in 2021.
A native of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Ishikawa gained recognition from an early age as a table tennis prodigy.
She won the mixed doubles world championship in 2017 with compatriot Maharu Yoshimura and served as the vice-captain of the Japanese delegation at the Tokyo Games.
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