The French men’s table tennis team, led by brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun, was clearly dominated by China in the final of the World Team Championships on Sunday in Busan (South Korea). The Blues lost 3-0.
Published on: 02/25/2024 – 3:05 p.m.
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Five months before the big home event, the Paris Olympic Games, French table tennis players failed to climb to the highest step of the world podium but nevertheless equaled their best historical result, 27 years after the silver won in 1997 by the band by Jean-Philippe Gatien.
For a time, Alexis Lebrun, the eldest of the siblings, kept hope alive with, at the end of his racket, a match point against the world number 1, Fan Zhendong, to bring France back to a victory everywhere against China . Unfortunately without success for him, ultimately beaten 2-3 in his duel at the top (9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7).
Earlier, his younger brother, Félix Lebrun, best Tricolor and world number 6, had no more success against Wang Chuqin (world number 2), who stifled him 3-0 (11-4, 11-8 , 11-3). The third French finalist, Simon Gauzy, believed in the feat for a time before losing to double Olympic champion Ma Long (7-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-6).
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The hierarchy was finally respected: the three Chinese won against the three best French, thus offering their country an 11th consecutive world title. These World Team Championships nevertheless remain historic for French table tennis; in addition to the silver brought back by the French table tennis players, their female compatriots also returned with a bronze medal, a first since 1991.
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(and with AFP)
