Lebrun's grand attacks crushed China's wells
The Lebrun brothers, Felix and Alexis, couldn't break the Chinese dominance in Olympic table tennis. In the team event semifinals, France, with its hopefuls, lost convincingly to the serial winners. Sweden caused an upset.
France dreamt of the greatest table tennis miracle in recent Olympic history. With the two brothers, Felix, the sensation teen, and 20-year-old Alexis, two outstanding youngsters represented the "Grande Nation" at the table. Especially the 17-year-old and absurdly good Felix fueled wild fantasies that one of them could soon break the extreme Chinese dominance. But it's not enough yet. In the team event semifinals, the Lebruns' attacks were repelled by Ma Long, Wang Chuqin, and individual Olympic champion Fan Zhedong. China advanced to the final with a 3:0 win and will face Sweden, which surprisingly defeated Germany in the quarterfinals and Japan in the semifinals. The Swedes, led by individual silver medalist Truls Moregardh, won their semifinal on Wednesday 3:2.
Ma Long shines in doubles
The 0:3 scoreline for France wasn't as disastrous as it looks. Only the doubles match of Alexis Lebrun and Simon Gauzy was largely one-sided. The first set was still balanced, but then world number one Wang Chuqin and legend Ma Long grew to their familiar size. The 35-year-old Ma Long, perhaps the greatest player of all time, was only used in the team event at these Olympics. He hadn't qualified for the individual event, where only two players per country could participate. But he showed his qualities in doubles.
In the first men's singles match, Felix Lebrun, the sensation who has driven the whole country crazy and sparked a huge boom in the sport, challenged Fan Zhedong for revenge for his crushing 0:4 defeat. And he succeeded, even if it ended in another defeat. Both played high-speed table tennis at its finest. The climax was a minute-long battle between the tireless Frenchman and the Chinese match point. For five minutes, he defended spectacularly.
Lebrun wins perhaps the best rally of the tournament
He went all out with relentless attack. It got really wild at the third match point. Lebrun was clearly on the defensive but freed himself with magical shots and won the point. His problem: he couldn't earn a set point for himself. So, Fan Zhedong got three more chances. He missed the first with a simple error. Lebrun took the second with a sensational rally. It was the best rally in this duel, one of the best of the tournament. The ball flew over the table 18 times. Both went full throttle, the duel went over the forehand and backhand. In the end, Lebrun hit the ball unreachable into the Chinese's right corner. But the sixth match point was decisive.
Alexis then stepped up to the table in singles. His opponent: World No. 1 Wang Chuqin, who had surprisingly fallen to young Swedish player Truls Moregardh in the third round (2:4) earlier, and had to face criticism back home. Wang was determined to make amends, but was not at his best in the first game, which went to the elder Lebrun brother. Lebrun puffed up and let out a wild shout, further heating up the crowd. Was a miracle about to happen?
But then the Chinese player stepped up his game, winning many rallies with his backhand. In the third set, a referee's decision briefly caused some frustration. Due to an incorrect serve by the Frenchman, the Chinese was awarded a point. Lebrun angrily smacked the ball into the net (8:5 for Wang Chuqin), and soon lost the set. The fourth set was quickly decided. Desperate, Lebrun found no solution and lost quickly. Wang took advantage of the first of his nine match points, and France fights for bronze.
Despite their efforts, the Lebrun brothers and the rest of the French team were unable to overcome the dominance of China in the Olympic Games 2024 team event semifinals. The Olympic Games 2024 in Paris will continue to showcase exciting table tennis matches, with the hope of witnessing France's potential victory in the upcoming bronze medal match.
