Boss Mazur, Noakes madness, a double bronze… Relive the perfect day for French badminton at the Paralympics

Charles Noakes a été impérial en finale de badminton. KMSP – PICOUT Grégory

Table tennis is not the only racket sport where the French shine. This Monday, September 2, the French delegation, led by the giant Lucas Mazur, won three medals. Gold for the 27-year-old player and Charles Noakes, and bronze for the mixed doubles of Mazur and Faustine Noël.

Did you know? Badminton is considered the most intense racket sport. Even more than squash. A smash has already been clocked at 493 km/h… supersonic. A speed that Lucas Mazur (27 years old) is not far from reaching in his ultimate quest: to make history in French sport. “I am very happy to join Marie-Amélie Le Fur or Alexis Hanquinquant (double Paralympic champion). But I want to go even further”, whispered the para-badminton giant (1.91m, three times world champion, six times European champion) after his final.

A final in which he ridiculed the Indian Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj (21-9, 21-13), yet world number one. “I played to perfection. It's the best day of my life”, he added, finally cracking this colossus' armor.

A double bronze

The performance of the Bordeaux club resident, entered in the SLA4 category (athlete with a disability in a lower limb but able to stand) after having suffered a stroke at the age of three resulting in a malformation of the ankle, is all the stronger because he had to refocus after his bronze medal won in the morning with Faustine Noël. These two may have diametrically opposed personalities, but they work well.

“It wasn't easy for me at the beginning”, notes Lucas. “I confirm”, smiles, shyly, Faustine. At first, he was a pure singles player, took up space on the court and struggled to let her express herself. “But he does it well today”, reassures Faustine. The pair, who meet six times a year to work on benchmarks and automatisms, went on to win their second Paralympic medal after the silver in Tokyo. The result of psychological work carried out with a mental trainer, in order to connect the go-getter Mazur and the “cerebral” Noël. Bet successful.

Charlie madness!

But the Arena Porte de la Chapelle never stopped having a feast for the eyes on the first day of school. Once again, it confirmed to us that, like nature which abhors a vacuum, the French enclosures cannot tolerate moments of silence. And in the wake of Mazur's victory on Monday evening, the hall experienced a technical problem. No sound, no music. So, no medal ceremony.

“Free Lucas”!”, shouted a full hall that waited an hour to see the Frenchman's consecration. Waves galore, Charles Aznavour, "Aux armes" flowed from the stands during the wait. “It's crazy how, as soon as they play, we forget their handicap, we don't even see it anymore. I'm sure they're better than some able-bodied people”, whispered Yacine, a 22-year-old from Marseille who had come to the capital for the start of classes.

Then the matches started again. And the madness returned. A madness named Charles Noakes. Entered in SL6, a category reserved for people of small stature, the Franco-British player was simply enormous. “The Englishman he faced in the final (Krysten Coombs) is more powerful, “Charlie” is finer, more tactical”, a member of the staff pointed out to us. But what is most striking is the intensity. The two badminton players were jumping everywhere, throwing themselves at each ball. This was less obvious in Mazur's final, as the Frenchman was walking on his final.

Then while the 27-year-old Frenchman was gaining momentum, feeding off the madness at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle, Coombs was collapsing, having his brain eaten. Until he completely cracked in the second set (21-19, 21-13).

Outsider of this tournament, “Charlie” is the surprise of the French badminton. He didn't lose a single set and won a prestigious gold medal. Crazy.