It's the surprise of these Olympic Games: France is vibrating with table tennis, thanks in particular to the exploits of Félix and Alexis Lebrun. But there's no time to rest, as thisThursday, August 8, a huge mountain stands in the way of Les Bleus. The Lebrun brothers, accompanied by Simon Gauzy, will be challenging Team China in the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympic table tennis team competition. After a convincing victory over Brazil, the French table tennis players are preparing to take on the tournament's undisputed favorites at theArena Paris Sud.
The French dominated the Brazilians (3-0) to qualify for the semi-finals of the Olympic team tournament on Wednesday. Since 2008, when this event was introduced at the Games, the Chinese have always won gold, which underlines the enormity of the challenge for the Tricolores. Félix Lebrun will be up against Fan Zhendong, who beat him in the semi-finals of the individual tournament.
Félix Lebrun, who won a bronze medal in singles, became the youngest individual Olympic medallist in history at the age of 17. Along with his brother Alexis and Simon Gauzy, he is one victory away from offering France a second medal at these Games. Alexis Lebrun expressed their enthusiasm:"We're really enjoying playing together... It's going to be a hell of a match", while Félix promised that Les Bleus would give"their best" against the Chinese favorites. Simon Gauzy added:"We're going to get plenty of rest and prepare well.
After an easy 3-0 win over Slovenia in their opening game, Les Bleus went on to dominate the Brazilians, led by Hugo Calderano. With this clear-cut victory, they reached the last four as they had hoped. Now they have to face the Chinese wall, with fresh Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, Tokyo Olympic champion Ma Long and world champion Wang Chuqin.
Watch the semi-final on France Télévisions and Eurosport this Thursday, August 8 at 10am.
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Dates and Opening Time
On August 8, 2024
Starts at 10:00 a.m.
Official website
olympics.com
Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: who are the medal-winning table tennis athletes?
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