by Henry Chen 

“I would want to challenge myself in the world’s top table tennis league.” Kasumi Ishikawa

After the 2012 London Olympic Games, Kasumi Ishikawa was scheduled to participate in the Chinese Super League. However, she had to withdraw from the competition.

She hopes to fulfil her dream and that is to be in action in the Chinese Super League next season.

Meanwhile, the top player of the Japanese Women’s Team is in action at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open.

Before this week’s competition, Kasumi Ishikawa revealed in an interview that she hopes to find her rhythm in the Swedish Open.

“Its hard for me to get rid of the shadows of my defeat in the singles competition in Rio. I hope that I will be able to have a new setting and carry out new challenges.” She said.

Kasumi Ishikawa was one of the hopes of the Japanese Team to win a medal in the Olympic Games Women’s Singles event but she failed to deliver a positive result. In fact, she surprised everyone with her early defeat in the tournament.

She was eliminated by DPR Korea’s Kim Song I in her opening match in round 32 (11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11).

Now in Stockholm, Kasumi Ishikawa appears in good condition; she beat Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching (11-9, 4-11, 3-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6) to reach the Women’s Singles final.

In 2016, Kasumi Ishikawa’s best record on the 2016 ITTF World Tour was at the German Open held in Berlin. She was the runner-up, being beaten in the final by the Chinese defender, Wu Yang.

Ishikawa’s match in the finals in Stockholm will be a perfect opportunity for her to establish herself again in the international arena.