French teenager Felix Lebrun overcame Brazilian Hugo Calderano for the second time in four days on Wednesday to clinch a crucial point that helped France beat Brazil and advance to the semifinal of the men’s team table tennis event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Just as in their bronze medal match in the singles competition, Lebrun, 17, used short serves en route to securing the first two games 11-6 and 11-7.
Calderano, the first player from Latin America to reach the semifinal in singles, tried to fight back in the third game, making the most of his advantage in the long rallies.
He fought back from three points behind, but eventually lost 13-11 to complete a 3-0 defeat. Lebrun’s older brother Alexis then overcame Brazilian Vitor Ishiy 3-1 as France set up a semifinal tie with China.
With home support, they are hoping for a different result from their previous encounters against the sport’s top team.
“Every time we play China, it’s normally in their country or in Asia, so every time there are many fans for them, but this time will be a little bit different,” said Felix Lebrun.
“I think it’s a great boost and also not easy for them every time they lose a point to hear a big sound in the audience. Maybe it can be a bit different,” he added.
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Both China’s men’s and women’s cruised into the semifinals with 3-0 victories on Wednesday. The women’s team easily defeated Taiwan, while the men’s team knocked out fifth-seeded South Korea earlier in the day.
Despite some resistance in the second and third singles matches, China’s world number one Wang Chuqin defeated Korea’s Jang Woojin 3-1, while China’s world number two Fan Zhendong beat Lim Jonghoon by the same score.
Ma Long teamed up with Wang to win the opening doubles contest 3-0 and praised his teammate’s skill and mental strength.
“Wang Chuqin had a good hit rate today. I told him he’s doing well, so he didn’t have to rush things even when it’s not always going well in the games,” said Ma.
Germany’s women’s team will continue its Olympic journey after its decorated men’s team, led by Timo Boll, was knocked out by Sweden on Tuesday.
Annett Kaufmann, 18, secured two valuable points for Germany in a 3-1 win over India, helping them clinch a spot in the semi-finals where they will face Japan.
Kaufmann, a first-time Olympian, demonstrated remarkable composure, gaining crucial points at key moments.
She edged out the U.S. team in a closely contested deciding game in the round of 16 and on Wednesday, she again triumphed over higher-ranked Indian players Manika Batra and Akula Sreeja, as she continued her transformation from a reserve to Germany’s top singles pick, after two players on the team got injured.
“It wasn’t really easy for us to be mentally good again, and to fight even though we don’t have the two best players on our team. But that makes me even more proud of us that we could manage to win,” said Kaufmann.
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