At the moment, the plan is unfolding smoothly. After easily defeating Portugal on Wednesday (3-0), the French ping pong team is preparing to face Brazil this Friday in the quarter-finals of the World Team Championships in London. Led by the Lebrun brothers, with Simon Gauzy as a lieutenant colonel and young talents Florent Coton and Thibault Poret, the squad looks impressive. Despite a new, somewhat incomprehensible format introduced by the International Federation, they are still chasing their dream of a first world title. China, a possible opponent in the semi-finals this weekend, may not be as confident as they were in the Paris Olympics.
Bench Depth The players coached by Nathanaël Molin have been impressive since the start of the competition. Despite being second seed on paper, France had to face tough opponents like Japan and Germany from the beginning, in a non-elimination group stage that determined the seedings for the next rounds. This unusual setup was a challenge for the French team, but they managed to sharpen their skills.
After defeating Taiwan and Germany, they turned the tables against Japan, with Flavien Coton, just 18 years old, leading the charge with a victory over the 18th-ranked Shunsuke Togami. The Lebrun brothers then raised their game to complete the comeback (3-2). “The format was quite uncomfortable, but we managed to handle it well,” said performance director Jean-René Mounier. “We have a very homogeneous team, we used it well, and it gives us strength for the future.”
Besides China, no other team but France can boast of having five players ranked in the top 30 globally. With promising performances from Coton and Poret, veteran Simon Gauzy is no longer a guaranteed third player, showcasing the team’s depth and versatility.
China “Weakened” As former runners-up in the world and Olympic bronze medalists two years ago, and European champions last year, China has no intention of settling for second place. They feel strong, but recent unusual signs of weakness have been observed in their performance. After going undefeated in the world for 26 years, they suffered defeats against South Korea (1-3) and Sweden (2-3) in the initial phase, though without significant consequences. However, their rivals have taken note.
“It is true that today, there seem to be more vulnerabilities. We see that China is more in difficulty than in recent years,” said the French performance director. “They are weakened, but still the best team in the world.” Despite this, no team dares to underestimate the Chinese.
With China’s dominance showing signs of waning, other teams have stepped up their game, creating a more competitive field globally. The French team, along with Sweden, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Brazil, are seen as strong contenders in the evolving world order of table tennis.
In this shifting landscape, the French team sees an opportunity. “We know the bar is high. But we need to focus on our strengths, on what we do well. We believe strongly, very strongly. The boys have had this conviction for a long time now,” said Mounier. “This title, it’s our dream. But for now, we are in the quarter-finals,” added Félix Lebrun. “The goal is the medal. We will first focus on that.” This could be only the third medal in the team’s modern history, after 1997 and 2024.
