Led by the Lebrun brothers, the French men’s table tennis team is guaranteed to play in the final stages of the world team championships, which take place until February 25 in Busan (South Korea).
By dominating Australia (3-0) on Monday February 19, the Blues continued their flawless performance since entering the competition. France finished at the top of its group 4 and thus secured its place in the round of 16 after a perfect group stage where only Denmark managed to take a set from the Blues.
Without the Lebrun brothers, left to rest, the French team scored a fourth victory in as many matches on Monday. Launched by Jules Rolland, victorious over Finn Luu (11-7, 11-8, 11-4), the Tricolores never trembled. Simon Gauzy secured a second success by beating Aditya Sareen (11-5, 11-9, 11-7). It was ultimately Lilian Bardet, for her first match in the world championship, who ensured victory by winning against Nicholas Lum (9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9) .
The Blues aim to do better than in 2022
On Sunday, France beat Austria (3-0). Félix Lebrun – left to rest on Saturday for the match against Algeria (3-0 victory for France) – performed in three sets (11-4, 11-9, 13-11) against Daniel Habesohn. His older brother Alexis also won after a tight first round (11-9, 11-6, 11-5). The only Habs worried by an Austrian, Simon Gauzy validated the French victory during a decisive round (11-7, 10-12, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7).
France had successfully entered the World Team Championships by outclassing Denmark 3-2, with two successes from Félix Lebrun, world No. 6 – and first non-Chinese.
To reach the final phase, they had to finish in the top three of their group of five. Knowing that first place gave them direct access to the round of 16. It is now done for the Blues, who aim to do better than at the previous World Team Championships in October 2022 in Chengdu, where they finished quarter-finalist.
“We’re going to try to get a medal,” said the youngest of the Lebrun brothers (17 years old), during a meeting with journalists on Monday February 12. Which would ideally make them launch the Olympic year, a little more than five months before the Paris Olympics (from July 26 to August 11).