Powerless, Félix Lebrun was outclassed by Fan Zhendong (11-8, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5) in the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Friday, August 2 at the Arena Paris Sud. The duel lasted just over half an hour, the time needed for the Olympic vice-champion to dominate the Frenchman in all areas of the game and pocket four sets to reach the final. Félix Lebrun could win a bronze medal in the event of victory in the small final, Sunday, August 4.
Felix Lebrun disarmed. The very young Frenchman (17 years old) never found the solution, suffering the incessant assaults of the number 2 seed, who relentlessly pounded the center of the table to hinder his backhand. “He was no longer making mistakes at the back.confided the youngest of the Lebruns after the meeting. I had hopes of hanging on a little bit more or even winning this match. But with my level of play today and his level of play today, I had no way.”
The hope of a medal remains intact. Félix Lebrun can still win a medal if he wins the bronze medal match that will be played on Sunday, August 4, at the Arena Paris Sud. He will face the Swede Truis Moregard, who defeated world number 1 Wang Chuqin, or the Brazilian Hugo Calderano, who eliminated Alexis Lebrun in the round of 16.
China still there. Despite Wang Chuqin’s premature defeat, the Middle Kingdom will have a representative in the final. No duel between the Chinese, however, while all the Olympic table tennis finals have been reserved for them since the Beijing Games in 2008.
