Table tennis star told not to marry boyfriend: report

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





Taiwanese sports officials and fans were dismayed by the news that the Japan Table Tennis Association allegedly issued an order to prohibit Olympic bronze medalist Ai Fukuhara from marrying her Taiwanese boyfriend, Chiang Hung-chieh (江宏傑), who is also an Olympic table tennis player.

Fukuhara and Chiang, both 27, have been in a relationship for more than a year, and it was reported that they planned to get married.

However, Josei Jishin magazine reported that Japanese table tennis officials ordered Fukuhara to put off the plans, because they wanted her to concentrate on her training and lead the Japanese women’s table tennis team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Chiang Hung-chieh of Taiwan watches as Chen Chien-an of Taiwan serves during their match against Bastian Steger of Germany on August 13. Photo: Reuters

The report said Japanese officials also had objections over Fukuhara marrying Chiang, because it would be a “status-gap marriage,” a Japanese term referring to a couple having significant disparity between their incomes, social status and personal values.

Other Japanese media outlets said that Fukuhara is the nation’s top female table tennis player, who was once the world’s No. 4 player, with an annual income estimated at ￥100 million (US$982,318), while Chiang is on a much lower level with a world ranking of 49, and was eliminated in the first round at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and only has an estimated annual income of ￥4 million.

Many Taiwanese sports fans were angered at the perceived slight against Chiang. Some fans posted messages condemning Japanese sports officials, saying they have no right to interfere in people’s affairs, adding that it is appalling to dictate a young woman’s choice of a marriage partner.

Ai Fukuhara of Japan celebrates a winning point against Yu Mengyu during their women’s team table tennis bronze medal match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 16. Photo: AP

In response to queries from Taiwanese media on Friday, Chiang said: “I cannot say anything about this matter. Whatever I say would not be right at this time.”

Fukuhara tried to dispel the speculation by posting a photograph on Facebook showing two cantaloupes filled with ice cream, tagged with Chiang’s name, whereby he responded with: “I will take you there after finishing my competition.”

Taiwanese sports officials were also alarmed, as they want to see the marriage go ahead, saying that Fukuhara could be granted Taiwanese citizenship to enable her to compete in table tennis matches for Taiwan at the Olympics, an idea which does not sit well with Japanese authorities.

The relationship between Fukuhara and Chiang was also covered by Chinese media outlets, since Fukuhara can write and speak Mandarin due to her training in China by top coaches from an early age and she is viewed as a celebrity there.