For now, the plan is going smoothly. Winners without flinching against Portugal on Wednesday (3-0), the French ping-pong team is getting ready to face Brazil this Friday in the quarterfinals of the World Team Championships in London. Led by the Lebrun brothers, with Simon Gauzy as a lieutenant colonel and young talents Florent Coton and Thibault Poret, the squad looks impressive. Despite a new, somewhat unclear format pulled out of the hat by the International Federation, they continue to chase their dream of a first world title. China, a possible opponent in the semi-finals this weekend, is likely to be less confident than at the Paris Olympics.
Depth of bench
The players coached by Nathanaël Molin have been impressive since the start of the competition. Despite being second seed on paper, France had to face tough opponents like Japan and Germany from the beginning, in a non-elimination group stage that defined the seeds for the future. A strange novelty that the French team would have preferred to avoid, but it ultimately allowed them to sharpen their skills.
After defeating Taiwan and Germany quite convincingly, they overcame Japan despite a difficult start with the losses of Félix and Alexis Lebrun right from the start. Surprise guest of this match, 18-year-old Flavien Coton sparked a revolt by beating the 18th-ranked Shunsuke Togami in a close match. The brothers then raised their game to complete the comeback (3-2). “This format was quite uncomfortable, but we managed it well,” said high-performance director Jean-René Mounié on Wednesday. “We have a very homogeneous team, we knew how to use it, and it gives us strength for the future.”
Aside from China, which has been ultra-dominant for three decades, no other team besides France can boast having five players ranked in the top 30 in the world. The experienced Simon Gauzy (19th) is no longer systematically the third man, as Flavien Coton (23rd) and Thibault Poret (26th) have become reliable backups when needed. It was actually the young Coton who clinched the third point against the Portuguese.
“There are two very positive things about him,” Mounié explains. “His results, obviously, which speak for themselves [Coton won his first WTT Contender-level tournament at the end of March], but also the emotional stability he has at his age. He brings a very interesting foundation to the team.” With Félix Lebrun (4th in the world rankings) back to his best form after a long period of hard work, the French team is well-equipped to go far.
China “weakened”
Two years ago, they were world championship runners-up and Olympic bronze medalists, last year’s European champions. Refusing to settle for second best, they feel strong, and moreover, the Chinese have shown unusual signs of weakness in recent days. After not losing a single match at the world level for 26 years, they dropped two matches in the first phase, against South Korea (1-3) and then Sweden (2-3). Not too significant for the rest of the tournament, but their opponents have taken note.
“It is true that today, there seem to be more opportunities. We clearly see that China is more in difficulty than in previous years,” reports the French high-performance director. “They are weakened, but be careful, they are still the best team in the world.”
Certainly, no one will proclaim themselves as favorites when facing the Chinese. Nevertheless, behind the unbeatable number 1 Wang Chuqin, there is now only one representative of the ping dynasty in the top 10 world rankings (Lin Shidong), when there were five squatting the top five positions just two years ago. Is this a sign of weakening? Or perhaps of increasing competition.
“The level of other teams has never been as high. There is a homogeneity in the top 6 world rankings that was unknown until now,” says Jean-René Mounié. “It’s the first time in a very long time that we have such density.” Behind France, Sweden with prodigy Truls Moregard, Japan with Harimoto and Matsushima, Germany, or South Korea are all strong contenders. Even Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, winner of the World Cup last year, is shaping up to be a tough opponent on the road to the final four.
In this new world order taking shape, the French team has a role to play. “We know the bar is high. But we need to focus on our strengths, on what we know how to do. I believe we are on the right track,” concludes Mounié. “We believe strongly, very strongly. The boys have had this conviction for a long time now.” “We have this title in the back of our minds, it’s our dream. But for now, we are in the quarterfinals,” adds Félix Lebrun, interviewed by L’Equipe. “The goal is the medal. We will focus on that first.” Quietly, this would only be the third in the history of this team in the modern era, after 1997 and 2024.
