Twenty-seven years of waiting. For the first time since 1997, the French men’s table tennis team will compete in the final of the world team championships. Winners of Taiwan (3-1), Saturday February 24, in the semi-final in Busan (South Korea), the Blues of an irresistible Félix Lebrun will play for the title against China, the reigning ten-time world champion (at noon , Paris time).
The Tricolores, already assured of a medal – matches for 3rd place do not exist in this competition – were guided by an excellent Félix Lebrun, world number 6 and winner of his two confrontations, against Chih-Yuan Chuang , during the first match, and Yun-Ju Lin, 8th in the world, during the decisive fourth match.
The latter first got rid of the eldest of the Lebrun brothers, Alexis, allowing Chinese Taipei – the name given to Taiwan in international sports competitions – to pick up one point everywhere. Easy winner of world number 31 Cheng-Jui Kao (3 sets to 0), Simon Gauzy brought the necessary point to put the Blues back in the lead; It is up to Félix Lebrun to ensure qualification during the final meeting.
Qualified for the third final in its history after 1948 and 1997, France will challenge China, the world’s leading nation, on Sunday, which beat host country South Korea (3-2) in the semi-finals. In 1997, during the World Championships in Manchester (United Kingdom), the French table tennis players, guided by Jean-Philippe Gatien – the last French world champion, in 1993 – lost to the same Chinese favorites.
With ten world titles in a row as a team, the Chinese armada promises to be a summit that could seem insurmountable for the Blues. But led by its two phenomena, the Lebrun brothers, the French team can no longer stop itself from dreaming, including a historic first world title a few months before the Paris Olympic Games. And in passing, to take France’s revenge on China, after the dry defeat of the Blues on Friday in the semi-final against the Chinese table tennis players.
