GOAT Index
Two legends at a time. Thousands of votes. One ranking.
Ai Fukuhara: the case for the GOAT
Who's greater?
Standings
About you
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Career highlights
The case for the GOAT
Ai Fukuhara: the case for the GOAT
Japan · Born 1 November 1988, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan · Career 1990s–2018
Japanese child prodigy, famous as a three-year-old, who grew into a top player and helped Japan win its first Olympic table tennis medal.
Career highlights
- Olympic team silver (2012)
- Olympic team bronze (2016)
- 4 Olympic Games (2004–2016)
- World mixed doubles bronze (2011)
- World No. 4 (2015)
Why Ai Fukuhara could be the GOAT
Fukuhara helped Japan win its first Olympic table tennis medal in 2012 and became a national icon. She played four Olympics and won world medals. Her impact on popularising the sport in Japan is unmatched.
What fans say
Ai Fukuhara is #3 of 15 in the fan ranking, with a 2–0 head-to-head record from 18 Women's table tennis votes. See the full Women's table tennis GOAT ranking
Ai Fukuhara head to head
How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.
One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.
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Photo credits
Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.