| Sayaka Hirano | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Sayaka Hirano in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 March 1985[1] Kanuma, Tochigi, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 158 cm (5 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 10 (August 2011)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sayaka Hirano (平野 早矢香, Hirano Sayaka, born 24 March 1985) is a Japanese five-time national table tennis champion.[4]
She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, reaching the third round of the singles competition. She also competed in the team competition, reaching the bronze medal final but losing to South Korea.[5]
At the 2012 London Olympics Women's Team Event semi-finals, she helped Japan overcome Singapore to reach their historic first final by winning her doubles match with Kasumi Ishikawa over Wang Yuegu and Li Jiawei (11-3, 13-11 and 11–4).[6][7] Japan failed to beat China in the final, but won the first ever silver medal for their country in table tennis.[8]
In March 2016, it was announced that she would be retiring after the Japanese Table Tennis League Big Tournament in April. She was beaten in the first round by Yuko Fujii and after the match, she said, "I feel I’ve done everything, I might have wanted to play a little better match. I’ve gone into each match thinking as if it were the last, and managed to end without any regrets".[9]
After her retirement as a professional table tennis player, she has become a familiar face in Japanese households as a TV presenter and table tennis sportscaster. She is also an adviser for table tennis club MIKI House.[10]
