French badminton thought it had decided on its qualifiers for the 2024 Olympics since the European Championships which were held last week in Saarbrücken, Germany. Ronan Labar and Lucas Corvée were among the lucky ones: despite their defeat in the first round, the two thirty-year-olds remained ahead of the pair of Popov brothers at the Race of the Games.
More, as indicated by RMCthe Olympic destiny of the French vice-champions is now strongly compromised: at the update of the ranking carried out on Tuesday by the BWF (the International Federation), Labar and Corvée finally found themselves number 2 in France, behind Toma Junior and Christo Popov, who trail them by 29 points.
An incorrect classification for a year
At the origin of this imbroglio is probably a calculation error by the BWF: during the Sudirman Cup 2023, the first competition counted for the Olympic ranking, points would have been unduly awarded to several pairs due to an error in the system accounting. Hence an erroneous classification for almost a year. Enough to distort player projections, their strategies as well as tournament seeds.
“It’s an explosion that we are experiencing”
Jérôme Careil, the DTN of French badminton, explained to RMC that he was awaiting notification from the BWF. For his part, Ronan Labar confided his disillusionment in a message sent to L’Équipe. “Our stomachs have been in knots since last night (Wednesday), laments Lucas Corvée’s partner. It’s a real earthquake, an explosion that we are experiencing. The dream of a life that appears then disappears without explanation. »
“I personally spent a sleepless night dwelling on this whole year, all the sacrifices we had to make to give ourselves a chance of qualifying for these Olympic Games,” continues the multiple French doubles champion. Every night away from my partner and my little daughter who kept asking for “daddy”, the twice-daily training sessions, the non-existent holidays. All this time spent on our sports project, the project of a lifetime in fact. »
The BWF still silent
The International Federation should make an official decision on this disputed case by Friday. A position that Labar firmly expects: “We are now waiting for an official press release from the BWF explaining this last minute modification before deciding what follow-up we will give to this surreal situation.”
2024-04-18 13:14:54
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