Never before have Chinese internet users so openly liked and supported a Japanese athlete as they have loved table tennis star Ai Fukuhara, better known by her Japanese nickname “Ai-Chan”.
乒乓球明星福原爱有个大家更熟悉的日本昵称“爱酱”，在她之前，还没有哪个日本运动员受到中国网友如此公开的喜爱和支持。
But they may now feel heartbroken, as the 29-year-old announced on Oct 21 that she would be retiring from the sport. “I’ve found the answers within myself that I have been searching for. From the standpoint of an athlete, I’m drawing the line here,” Fukuhara wrote on her blog.
但如今，网友们或许会感到有些难过。10月21日，现年29岁的福原爱宣布退役。“我找到了内心一直在寻找的答案。作为一名运动员，我要在这里退役了，”福原爱在博客上写道。
After she starting playing table tennis at 3 years old, Fukuhara was seen as a child genius at the sport. Being trained in China at a very young age, Fukuhara can speak fluent Mandarin, with a northeastern accent.
3岁开始打乒乓球的福原爱被视为乒乓球神童。她自幼便来到中国训练，能说一口流利的东北话。
If her deep-rooted connection with China is one thing that has won the hearts of Chinese fans, her personality is another. She always shows her real self to the public without hiding her emotions. She laughs in games when she wins, and cries when loses. The fact that she often cries when she gets upset has earned her the nickname “Crybaby Ai-Chan” in China.
与中国的深厚情谊是她获得中国粉丝喜爱的一大原因，而她的性格也圈粉无数。她不会在公众面前掩饰情绪，向来都在展示真实的自己：比赛赢了就笑，输了就哭。难过时爱哭的性格也让她在中国有了“哭包爱酱”的外号。

Despite being beaten by a long line of Chinese champions, Fukuhara always tries her best when playing her favorite sport.
尽管福原爱曾败于众多中国冠军，但她在这项自己最爱的运动上，一直努力做到最好。
Yet, she also knows that now is the best time to close the curtain on her successful career. It’s hard to say goodbye to a long journey, but as Fukuhara once said on a reality TV show, “Life is not all about table tennis. Instead, life contains it.”
然而职业生涯大获成功的她也知道，如今是退居幕后的最好时机。要告别一段漫长旅途并非易事，但正如福原爱曾在一档电视真人秀中所说的那样：“不是乒乓球里面有人生，是人生里面有乒乓球。”
As for her future plans, Fukuhara wrote that she would like to promote table tennis and help more people around the world get to know the beauty of the sport.
对于未来的规划，福原爱表示她想要推广乒乓球运动，帮助全世界更多的人了解这项运动的美好。
Indeed, sport is something that goes beyond national boundaries, just as the friendship between Fukuhara and the Chinese coaches, athletes, and fans shows.
就像福原爱和中国教练、运动员以及粉丝之间的友情所展现的那样，体育的确超越了国界。