Sensational teenager Lebrun is taking a big hit
The meteoric rise of France's table tennis sensation Felix Lebrun at the Olympic Games in Paris has been halted. The 17-year-old suffered his first defeat in the semi-finals, losing 0:4 to Chinese player Fan Zhendong and missed out on the chance to win gold.
The empire felt challenged. For the first time since 2008, a table tennis player outside of China seemed capable of winning Olympic gold. Sensation teen Felix Lebrun appeared destined to make the impossible possible, breaking the dynasty of men from the Middle Kingdom. And if it were up to the people of France, the historic power shift in the sport would have already taken place during these Olympic days.
Lebrun, the 17-year-old blonde-haired boy with the black glasses, has been shaking the country for months. He has sparked an incredible hype in the country. The atmosphere in the Paris Sud 4 arena during his appearances was somewhere between a rock concert and a Formula 1 arena on the noise scale. But on this Friday, the phenomenal winning streak of the prodigy with the penholder grip came to an end. In the semi-finals, Fan Zhendong was too strong, the world number two and the last hope of the Chinese for gold.
Fan Zhendong is 27 years old, has been world champion twice and has also been the best in the world rankings. But none of that mattered before the duel with Lebrun. The Frenchman had played himself into such a frenzy that he was lightly favored. How he freed himself from a deep 3:0 set deficit against German Dimitri Ovtcharov in the round of 16 had enchanted the world. Among them was Zinedine Zidane, who wanted to personally witness the hype around the prodigy. He knows it himself, was once the best of his time and in the spotlight. But he was a footballer. A different league, a different dimension. Lebrun plays table tennis, is (still) not the flashy poster boy.
Fan Zhendong has the best answers
But he is one who can do magical things with a racket in his hand. He has a brutal serve, perhaps the best in the world. He rarely moves away from the table, goes extremely early on the balls and always looks for his chances bravely, aggressively and offensively. That he can shine, fight and free himself from depths again and again suddenly made him the favorite for gold. Especially after the completely surprising third-round knockout of top favorite Wang Chuqin against Swedish Truls Moregardh.
But in the round before the fight for gold, China stopped the hope for a power shift at the table. Fan Zhendong won 4:0 and played outstanding table tennis. The day before, in his quarter-final against Japanese Tomokazu Harimoto, he seemed nervous and played very poorly. With such a performance, he would have been hopeless against Lebrun. But the 27-year-old improved, remained calm under the immense pressure and had prepared well for his opponent.
Especially for his serves. Although they are very varied, Fan Zhendong always found good and flexible answers, broke his opponent several times. To be better prepared for the aggressive attacks, he also moved further away from the table, which gave him more reaction time. The Chinese dominated the game and set tasks for his opponent that he could not solve. He plays cleverly, attacks and sometimes slows down the high-speed game. Lebrun quickly seemed desperate, looked for eye contact with his coach, took time-outs, and shouted out his frustration.
Another surprise man in the final
When the Chinese was just one point away from match point, the 17-year-old dropped to his knees and let out a loud cry. He seemed to know in that moment that it was over. That he wouldn't be the first Frenchman since Jean-Philippe Gatien in 1992 to reach the Olympic final. Of course, in table tennis, anything can happen. He had experienced that himself against Ovtcharov when he faltered and just managed to recover in time. He also suffered in the quarterfinals against Lin Yun-Ju from Taiwan but held his nerve. But against a giant like Fan Zhendong, no, there would be no miracle, no gigantic miracle.
He managed to save one match point, but the cool Chinese then converted the second one spectacularly after a high-speed rally. Fan Zhendong will now play for gold, against none other than Möregardh, who sensationally knocked out his teammate. The empire is once again under pressure. The Swede has the chance to step into big footsteps on Sunday. So far, the only European to secure individual gold was his compatriot Jan-Ove Waldner in Barcelona in 1992. Meanwhile, Lebrun will play against the Brazilian Hugo Calderano for bronze.
Despite Lebrun's impressive performances throughout the Olympic Games, his quest for gold was halted in the semi-finals against Chinese player Fan Zhendong. The young Frenchman's defeat paved the way for Fan to potentially become the first non-Chinese player to win gold since 2008.
Fan Zhendong's impressive semi-final performance against Lebrun proved that he was ready to challenge for the gold medal, setting up an exciting final against theSwedish player Truls Moregardh.
