The French men’s table tennis team, never really challenged, easily dominated a weak team from the United States with three-zero victories to advance to the round of 16 in the World Team Championships on Monday at Wembley.
The French, who had struggled against the Japanese in the group stage on Sunday, approached this main round more aggressively, leaving only scraps for their transatlantic opponents of a very limited level.
Easy Victory for Coton
The young Flavien Coton, 18 years old, competing in his first World Team Championships, led the French to success by defeating Kanak Jha in four sets 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, and 11-9. While the American managed to level the game at one set each, Coton accelerated to secure the third set 11-5 before digging deep against an opponent who gave it his all to stay alive without success.
Following this initial victory, Felix Lebrun, facing the veteran Jishan Liang (34 years old), had an easy win to add the second point for the French. Never troubled by the American, the 4th-ranked player in the world only conceded a total of 9 points in three one-sided sets (11-5, 11-1, 11-3) to close the match and set the French team on a promising path.
Egypt or Portugal in the Quarters
With two consecutive defeats, the American team, with their backs against the wall, turned to Nandan Naresh (22 years old) to challenge Simon Gauzy (31 years old). However, as expected, the French, the 19th-ranked player globally, asserted dominance by winning in three sets (11-3, 11-4, and 11-4) to secure an easy victory and a smooth qualification for the defending European champions.
For a spot in the quarterfinals, the French will face the winner of the match between Egypt and Portugal on Tuesday.
