There is such a thing, the home court was not “slope” in the draw for the men's table tennis team competition: hosts France were drawn to China, which meant that there was no chance for a dream final, the two teams had already met in the semi-finals. Whether they would reach this point was not a question for a moment, for China, India and South Korea, and for France, Slovenia and Brazil, they were just warm-ups, as each of the four matches mentioned ended with a score of 3:0. Thus, the rematch of the World Team Championship final in February in Paris took place already in the semi-finals. Half a year ago in Busan, China won 3:0, and were still considered the favorites. Remarkably, the line-up of the two teams did not change, that is, for the Asians, Wang Chu-chen, Fan Chen-tong and Ma Long, and for the Hungarians, Felix Lebrun, Alexis Lebrun and Simon Gozi were in the match. table.
The French fought hard, but even with the enthusiastic support of their fans, they had no chance of advancing China to the final with a 3-0 win. On the other hand, Sweden and Japan put up a much bigger fight, with the Scandinavians winning 3:2, the Japanese already leading 2:0, and in the decisive fifth game, Anton Kalberg turned the score around from 0:2, and won the final 11:9 against Harimoto Tomokazu in the match.
China have reached the finals for the fifth time in a row – the only time they have competed in the team event since Beijing 2008, which is their fifth time at the Games – and have won every time, while the Swedes have never reached the gold medal battle, and even with that number they have not even won a medal. The French can also take credit for the fact that if they beat Japan in the divisional round they will have won another bronze medal in the men’s singles courtesy of Felix Lebrun.
For women, the usual “boring” conclusion promises to be in Paris: as in the last five World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics, there will also be a final between China and Japan – of course, China has won all of the mentioned finals, and it is believed that this will be no different, that is, there is a good chance of a fifth Olympic title for China in a row. Europe still has a chance to win a medal here, as the opponent of South Korea, who was defeated by the Chinese, will be the bronze medalist of the Rio 2016 Olympics, the German national team.
Paris 2024
table tennis
Team Competition. Men. Semi-final:
China-France 3:0
Sweden-Japan 3:2
Skinny. Semi-final:
China vs South Korea 3:0
Japan-Germany 3:1
