Ai Fukuhara

Fukuhara is set to appear in her third Olympics for Japan despite the fact she's only 23 years old. At 14, she was the country’s youngest athlete at the 2002 Asian Games, and, at 15, the youngest table tennis player at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She reached the round of 16 in Greece before falling to eventual bronze medalist Kim Kyung-Ah of South Korea. Four years later in Beijing, she received the honor of being Japan’s flag bearer, but ultimately fell to eventual gold medalist Zhang Yining of China in the same round. Considered a prodigy as she began playing at age three, Fukuhara is entering her prime as a competitor and has been ranked as high as No. 7 in the world. She lost in the third round of the 2011 world championships in singles and doubles, teaming with rival and friend Kasumi Ishikawa - her likely partner in London. Fukuhara partnered with Seiya Kishikawa to earn a bronze medal in mixed doubles. A huge star in Japan who has been featured in PlayStation table tennis video games, Fukuhara is also popular in China. She is fluent in Mandarin and once played against Chinese president Hu Jintao.