He was the last, here he is now eliminated. Félix Lebrun was the last French representative at the Macau World Cup event. But the young 17-year-old Frenchman was eliminated in the round of 16 by the Chinese Ma Long (11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8).
The 35-year-old double Olympic champion, in Rio in 2016 then Tokyo in 2021, took advantage of Félix Lebrun’s complicated start to the match. The Frenchman quickly fell two rounds to zero. The Chinese, fourth in the world, one place ahead of his opponent, finally won 4-2, despite a great reaction from the youngest of the Lebrun brothers.
𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞 🏆
Félix Lebrun 2️⃣-4️⃣ Ma Long
Brawling, eye-catching, Félix will have given everything this morning. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough against the best player of all time.
📸 Rémy Gros#TeamFrance 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/ns2Y4e9llW
— French Table Tennis Federation (@ffttofficiel) April 18, 2024
The Frenchman qualified brilliantly for the round of 16, at the end of the group stage. During this one, he beat the Chilean Nicolas Burgos as well as the Korean Kao Cheng-Jui. Félix Lebrun is already guaranteed to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The last qualifying place is disputed between his older brother, Alexis (20 years old) and Simon Gauzy (29 years old). In Macau, the two Frenchmen were eliminated in the first round and failed to gain an advantage in the race for the Olympic Games.
After a draw against the Ecuadorian Alberto Mino, Alexis Lebrun was beaten by the Chinese Lin Shidong. Simon Gauzy, for his part, recorded a victory against the Egyptian Mohamed El-Beiali, before losing to the Korean Jang Woojin.
On the women’s side, the competition also stopped in the group stage for Jia Nan Yuan (38 years old) and Prithika Pavade (19 years old).
