The year 2024 will go down in the annals of French table tennis. And the discipline is advancing at full speed in the lineage of its two banners turned public figures, the brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun. The two young table tennis players, aged 21 and 18, defeated Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka in the final match of the WTT (World Table Tennis) circuit, in Fukuoka (Japan), on Saturday, November 23.
Thanks to this coronation obtained against the Japanese, the sixth couple in the world, the Lebrun brothers, who ranked 7thmy world ranking before this tournament, dethroned the Chinese Yuan Licen and Xiang Peng in first place in the doubles ranking. A great novelty for the French. “It’s crazy to win this title here in Japan and with my little brother. declared Alexis Lebrun, before thanking the French audience present in the room. It’s crazy emotions at the end of an equally crazy year. »
At a disadvantage and in trouble at the beginning of the first round, Nathanaël Molin’s pupils got back on track thanks to a good series, before giving up the first set to the locals (12-14). Hampered by the speed of play offered by the Japanese duo, the Lebrun brothers had a bad start again, but managed to win the second set (14-12) after leading 8-3, then dominated the third (11-6) . A turning point: since the Japanese pushed them to the fifth round (7-11), the blues kept calm and achieved the most prestigious success of their young career.
Eliminated early in the individual tournament, the two brothers qualified for the final thanks to a victory in the semifinals against the other Montpellier duo, Esteban Dorr and Florian Bourrassaud (12-10, 11-6, 11-3), present in the is there to support them.
Fallen from another Japanese couple in the quarterfinals, the Tricolores attracted the praise of the local public with a celebration in tribute to sumo, Japan’s emblematic sport. On Saturday they imitated a “Kamé Hamé Ha”, a combat technique taken from the famous Dragon Ball manga.
The apotheosis of a historic year 2024
The year 2024 was particularly successful for French table tennis, with good results.” beyond expectations », coach Nathanaël Molin recently told Agence France-Presse. The young Lebrun brothers were especially involved in this success.
Félix Lebrun, who will drop from 4my at 5my world ranking in singles after the tournament, she won an individual bronze medal at the Paris Olympics during the summer. The French team, already a silver medalist at the World Championships in Busan (South Korea) in February, completed its squad with another bronze medal at the Olympic Games thanks to the two Lebruns and their teammate Simon Gauzy.
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In October, the two brothers also shone at the European Championship: Alexis Lebrun triumphed in singles before winning in doubles with his brother Félix, who stood out by winning the WTT Champions in Montpellier at the end of October.
If the Fukuoka competition puts an end to the WTT circuit, the two Lebrun brothers will continue to play Pro A matches, the national championship and the Champions League in December with their Montpellier club. With the WTT circuit resuming in January 2025, the two youngsters will perhaps take a short break at the beginning of the year, before preparing for the Individual World Championships in Doha (Qatar), which will take place from May 17 to 25.
