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Paris (AFP)
Center-half Nikola Karabatic, seriously injured in mid-October with his club Paris SG, will play well in the Tokyo Olympics, appearing in the list of 15 players selected on Monday by coach Guillaume Gille to travel to Japan in two weeks.
Victim of a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee on October 17, Nikola Karabatic resumed competition with PSG at the end of May after seven months of cut, playing in particular the Final 4 of the Champions League.
“When you get to a starting line for the Olympics, there is nothing guaranteed. There were no more questions for him than for the others. He demonstrated during this short fortnight. preparation that he was very strong physically, “said coach Guillaume Gille.
With the French, Nikola Karabatic will go in search of a fourth Olympic podium, after gold in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012, and silver in 2016 in Rio (defeat in the final against Denmark).
Of the 21 players in the preparation, Jean-Jacques Acquevillo, Dylan Nahi, Elohim Prandi and Yannis Lenne are leaving the group, while Rémi Desbonnet and Romain Lagarde will travel to Japan as replacements.
“It’s a daily job and intense reflection with the staff and in particular Erick (Mathé, his deputy) to determine the best profile to allow us to achieve great Games. It was a headache for some positions”, recognized Guillaume Gille.
Fifteen players will be in the Olympic Village, but the coach will be able to change his 14 players on the sheet for each match, allowing the tactical options to be opened, which was not the case for previous editions of the Olympics? “It’s a real added value,” said the coach.
The French will start the Olympics-2020 on Saturday July 24 against Argentina in a group stage during which they will also face Brazil (July 26), Germany (July 28), Spain (July 30) and Norway (August 1). They must take one of the top four places to qualify for the quarter-finals.
. The list of 15
Goalkeepers: Yann Genty (Paris SG), Vincent Gérard (Paris SG)
Left wingers: Hugo Descat (Montpellier), Michaël Guigou (c.) (Nîmes)
Left-back: Nikola Karabatic (Paris SG), Timothey N’Guessan (FC Barcelona / ESP)
Demi-centres: Kentin Mahé (Veszprem/HUN), Nedim Remili (Paris SG)
Pivots: Ludovic Fabregas (FC Barcelona / ESP), Luka Karabatic (Paris SG), Nicolas Tournat (Kielce / POL)
Right-backs: Dika Mem (FC Barcelona / ESP), Melvyn Richardson (Montpellier)
Right wingers: Luc Abalo (Elverum / NOR), Valentin Porte (Montpellier)
. The two substitutes
Goalkeeper: Rémi Desbonet (Nîmes)
Left back: Romain Lagarde (RN Löwen / GER)
© 2021 AFP
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