Table Tennis – World Team Championships (M): The Blues beaten by China in semi

Mathieu Warnier, from Media365: published on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 11:40 pm

If they managed to make the Chinese doubt, the French team failed to make the decision and are eliminated in the World Team Championships semi-finals (3-1).

The challenge was once again too high for the French team. Two years after their defeat against China in the World Team Championships final, the French team once again fell short but managed to instill doubt in the minds of the Chinese. After an admirable performance on Friday against Hugo Calderano, Flavien Coton retained the confidence of the French coaching staff. The native of Lambres-lez-Douai had the honor of opening the semi-final against the world number 1 Wang Chuqin. He managed to make him doubt from the first points. Never giving up, the Frenchman first saved two set points before missing one himself. The Chinese eventually had the last word, but the match was far from over.

However, Flavien Coton’s good start in the second set was quickly erased by the world number 1, prompting the French bench to call a timeout to make corrections. The advice brought the Nordiste out of the slump to equalize to one set each in a suspenseful match. The two players then exchanged blows, but it was Flavien Coton who had the last word to take the lead in the match. This only motivated Wang Chuqin to raise his level of play. This resulted in a one-sided fourth set, even though it was not a straightforward victory. The world number 1 had to take a timeout to regain composure against the tenacious Frenchman.

F.Lebrun reinvigorated the French team.

The Chinese, however, managed to even the match at two sets each. Flavien Coton started well in the deciding set but struggled towards the end. Wang Chuqin contributed the first point to China (15-13, 11-13, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8). Felix Lebrun then took over to face the world number 6 Lin Shidong. While the latter managed to keep up in the beginning of the first set, he couldn’t resist the Montpellier player who then took the lead. The Chinese tried to push the Frenchman in the early stages of the second set, but “Fefe” remained solid before breaking on the fourth set point. With his back against the wall, Lin Shidong let his shots loose to try and catch Felix Lebrun off guard.

However, on the second match point, the Montpellier player leveled the teams (11-9, 11-9, 12-10). It was then his brother Alexis Lebrun’s turn to take on Liang Jingkun, the current 21st world player. Sensing an opportunity against the most accessible Chinese team member, the Hérault player started the match aggressively. Offering his opponent few solutions, he won the first set easily. But the second set was a different story. Alexis Lebrun only allowed one point to Liang Jingkun to break him.

Wang Chuqin finished the job.

The Chinese then changed tactics to try and challenge his opponent. He saved two match points before adding suspense to his third set point. Touched by this scenario, the Frenchman stumbled at the start of the fourth set before launching into a wild comeback. He saved no less than seven equalizing points at two sets all to come back to ten points each. However, Liang Jingkun persisted and had the last word. Initially a close match, the last set saw the Chinese player assert dominance to put his team in the lead in the semi-final (3-11, 1-11, 15-13, 12-10, 11-2). The fate of the French team was then in the hands of Felix Lebrun against Wang Chuqin, whom he has not yet managed to defeat.

The first set was highly contested, and the Montpellier player let a set point slip before falling behind. However, “Fefe” wasn’t done yet and picked up the pace to level at one set each. The exchanges were highly contested, but Wang Chuqin managed to win the crucial points to regain the upper hand in the match. Starting the fourth set with a 7-0 lead, Wang Chuqin dealt a blow to Felix Lebrun, who couldn’t recover. He lost after putting up a fight (13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4) and saw the Chinese team advance to the final. They will face Japan, who easily defeated Taiwan in the other semi-final.