AOMORI -- Former table tennis star Ai Fukuhara visited the Aomori Municipal Government office on Nov. 4 and donated to the city a "borderless" ping-pong table, which she devised so that people with disabilities such as wheelchair users and little children can also enjoy playing the sport.

       Fukuhara, 33, an alumna of Aomori Yamada High School in this north Japan city who won medals in two consecutive Olympics at London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, commented, "I hope people from children to the elderly will enjoy table tennis while using this table to put a smile on their faces."

       Fukuhara came up with the idea of the borderless ping-pong table after her mother began to use a wheelchair several years ago due to her weak legs and lower back. Hoping for a wide variety of people, regardless of disabilities, to enjoy table tennis, she brought the design to Chiba Prefecture-based San-Ei Corp., which manufactured the official ping-pong tables for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, last summer and made one together.

       This photo shows the "borderless" ping-pong table donated by Ai Fukuhara at the Aomori Municipal Government office on Nov. 4, 2021. (Mainichi/Kazuhiko Toyama)

       According to Fukuhara, it is difficult for wheelchair users to hit a ball on regular ping-pong tables because they are too high, and the table corners pose a danger of injury. The new table is 9 centimeters lower than ordinary ones, and the table top is oval -- 180 centimeters at its longest diameter and 90 centimeters at its shortest diameter. In addition, its net is transparent.

       Fukuhara explained: "Table tennis is a sport that can be enjoyed by three generations of families, but it is difficult for wheelchair users and people with disabilities to play. I wondered what would make a truly borderless ping-pong table."

       After receiving a letter on the donation from Fukuhara at the city government office, Aomori Mayor Akihiko Onodera responded, "We'd like many residents to enjoy it." He said that the city intends to place the ping-pong table in a young children's room in the civic gymnasium to use for interactions between parents and children.

       (Japanese original by Kazuhiko Toyama, Aomori Bureau)

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