Bronze medalist at the last table parading world championships, Flora Vautier is a young prodigy of the discipline. Now a Team SPORTMAG athlete, the 18-year-old girl inevitably has Paris 2024 in her sights.
Flora, you won a bronze medal at the last World Cup. Looking back, what do you remember about this meeting?
It was my first major international competition since playing table tennis. I loved it, from start to finish. I absolutely didn’t want to stress, I didn’t have any pressure that could make me lose matches. I wanted to play my game and not take my head. If it went so much the better, if not so much the worse. Luckily, it worked fine.
Is pleasure the key element that drove you to table tennis?
Absolutely, it is an essential element. If I didn’t enjoy playing or with the people I train with it would be very complicated, I would never have continued to play table tennis.
The World Cup proved it, you are a very comfortable doubles player…
I like doubles, because I like to lead in doubles. It’s another source of motivation, when you share victories and defeats with a partner, it’s something other than the individual. I love.
“J’I still have a lot of room for improvement”
How do you analyze your progress?
I think I still have a lot of room for improvement. It’s a dueling sport, I like the competition. This is also why I do this sport, because I like competition. On a technical level in particular I can still improve a lot. In terms of experience I can also improve, I’m only at the beginning of my career.
You play in Nîmes, what convinced you to join ASPC Nîmes Table Tennis?
Before, I was at CREPS in Bordeaux. I wanted a change and went to Nîmes. Ça a vie paired with Guillaume Jean who is also the coach of the French team. I need to have a good connection with my coaches to enjoy what I do. Nîmes is a great club, the other players have welcomed me very well, it’s really at a high level.
How to reconcile studies and sports life?
I’m on STAPS. I do my year over two years so I have a lot less class. This allows me to train in the morning, get to class in the early afternoon before training again after class. When I don’t have class, I train all day. From now on, I intend to make adjustments to my courses in the years to come. I didn’t do any during my high school years, but there it becomes fundamental with the multiplication of training sessions and competitions.
Speaking of competitions, what are your expectations for 2023?
I didn’t have particular expectations for the last World Cup, but in 2023 I would like to perform internationally with many releases. This could allow me to gain positions in the standings, and why not qualify for the European Championships which will take place in early September.
