The French men’s table tennis team, never worried, easily dominated a weak team from the United States with three victories to zero to advance to the round of 16 of the World Team Championships, this Monday at Wembley.
The French, who had struggled against the Japanese in the group stage on Sunday, approached this main round with determination, leaving only scraps for their American opponents of a very limited level.
Coton makes it easy
The young Flavien Coton, 18, competing in his first World Team Championships, led the French to success by defeating Kanak Jha in four sets 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, and 11-9. Although the American was able to equalize in one set, Coton took charge to win the third set 11-5 before finishing the match comfortably against an opponent who fought hard to no avail.
Following this initial success, Felix Lebrun, facing veteran Jishan Liang (34), did not have to showcase his talent to secure the second point for the French. The 4th ranked player in the world only allowed 9 points in three one-sided sets (11-5, 11-1, 11-3) to seal the victory and put the French team on a smooth path.
Egypt or Portugal in the quarterfinals
With two consecutive losses, the American team, with their backs against the wall, relied on Nandan Naresh (22) to challenge Simon Gauzy (31). As expected, the 19th ranked player in the world asserted his dominance by winning in three sets (11-3, 11-4, and 11-4), offering an easy victory and qualification to the reigning European champions.
For a spot in the quarterfinals, the French will face the winner of the match between Egypt and Portugal on Tuesday.
