ATHENS – Japan’s Ai Fukuhara, the youngest woman to appear in the table tennis competition at the Athens Olympics, romped into the fourth round of the singles Tuesday with a quick-fire 4-0 win over 10th-seed Jun Gao of the United States.
The 15-year-old Fukuhara dominated the match from the start at Galatsi Olympic Hall, taking just 20 minutes to book her place in the last 16 with an 11-3, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 victory.
Ai Fujinuma and Aya Umemura also won to join Fukuhara in the fourth round but veteran Koji Matsushita’s fourth straight Olympic campaign came to an end in the men’s event.
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