China – France 3-1 Defeated by China on Saturday in London, the Lebrun brothers-led French team were stopped in the semi-finals of the Table Tennis World Championships. Two years after winning silver in Busan, South Korea, and suffering a defeat against the Chinese giants, the French team had to settle for bronze this time.
It was a thrilling evening lasting nearly three hours, with Wang Chuqin narrowly defeating the young Flavien Coton, 18 years old.
The gap between France and China narrows Felix Lebrun showed confidence against Lin Shidong while Alexis Lebrun lost to Liang Jingkun in the third match, despite having two match points.
Then came the disappointment as Felix Lebrun was defeated by Wang Chuqin. Wang Chuqin has never lost to the French team in the 16 encounters, even though Flavien Coton put up a strong fight.
Unbeaten in the competition since 2001 and having reached the final every time since 1991, the Chinese team will once again be competing in the final, this time against Japan. For the French team, the current European champions, it was a missed opportunity, although the evening showed that the gap between the two nations is gradually closing. Not enough for this Saturday night.
