Table tennis Olympians Ai Fukuhara and Chen Hung-chieh hold wedding in Taipei

Record ID: 162886

  • Title: Table tennis Olympians Ai Fukuhara and Chen Hung-chieh hold wedding in Taipei
  • Date: 1st January 2017
  • Summary: TAIPEI, TAIWAN (JANUARY 1, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** AI FUKUHARA AND CHIANG HUNG-CHIEH ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF FUKUHARA AND CHIANG POSING FOR PICTURES CHIANG TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) TABLE TENNIS OLYMPIAN, AI FUKUHARA, SAYING: "Hello everyone, friends from the media, I am Ai Fukuhara. Thank you for coming to our wedding today and (I) wish you a happy new year." FUKUHARA AND CHIANG HOLDING HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) TABLE TENNIS OLYMPIAN, CHIANG HUNG-CHIEH, SAYING: "I think that January 1, 2017, can be seen as a completely new beginning and I hope that after (today) my life with Little Ai will also be a very happy new beginning." HOST TALKING NEXT TO NEWLYWEDS FUKUHARA LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) TABLE TENNIS OLYMPIAN, AI FUKUHARA, SAYING: "I think you can say that wherever Little Chieh is, this is also where I'll be." GUEST TALKING ON STAGE GUEST JOINING NEWLYWEDS TO POSE FOR PICTURES GUEST AND COUPLE POSING FOR PICTURES COUPLE POSING FOR PICTURES FUKUHARA AND CHIANG LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 16th January 2017 09:51
  • Keywords: table tennis Olympians Ai Fukuhara Chiang Hung-chieh wedding Taipei celebration
  • Location: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
  • City: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
  • Country: Taiwan
  • Topics: Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015X90QPX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Japanese table tennis Olympian Ai Fukuhara and Taiwanese Ping-Pong heart-throb Chiang Hung-Chieh prepared to tie the knot in Taipei on Sunday (January 1) to the delight of their fans.
    Chiang proposed to Fukuhara after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
    Fukuhara began playing table tennis at age three and gained fame as a child prodigy of the sport in Japan, but her popularity extends beyond her country's borders.
    Her fluency in Mandarin and participation in China's table tennis Super League have garnered her numerous supporters in China and elsewhere in East Asia, where she is often referred to as the "Japanese Doll".
    "Hello everyone, friends from the media, I am Ai Fukuhara. Thank you for coming to our wedding today and (I) wish you a happy new year," she said at a press conference ahead of the wedding festivities.
    The couple had initially planned to get married before the end of last year, but Chiang said that they delayed the wedding date for a special reason.
    "I think that January 1, 2017, can be seen as a completely new beginning and I hope that after (today) my life with Little Ai will also be a very happy new beginning," he said.
    Asked where the newlyweds will settle down after the marriage, Fukuhara said "I think you can say that wherever Little Chieh is, this is also where I'll be."
    Fukuhara competed in her first Olympics in 2004 when she was just 15 years old. She has since become a prominent member of the Japanese Olympic team. During the Beijing Olympics in 2008, she carried the Olympic flag for the Japanese delegation, and in London in 2012 was a member of the team that won Japan their first silver Olympic medal in table tennis.
    The couple will reportedly also hold a wedding ceremony is Japan as well.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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