Table tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympics: incredible Félix Lebrun! The Frenchman qualifies for the semi-finals thanks to a superb end to the match

Félix Lebrun rejoint les demi-finales des JO. MAXPPP – YOAN VALAT

Félix Lebrun (5e mondial) s’est qualifié pour les demi-finales du tournoi de tennis de table des JO de Paris 2024 en battant le Taïwanais Yun Ju Lin (8e) 4 à 3 en quarts, jeudi 1er juillet à l’Arena Paris Sud 6.

The magnificent adventure continues for the Montpellier prodigy. Facing the world number eight, Félix Lebrun assumed his rank of world number five by winning at the end of a suspenseful match against the Taiwanese thanks to an exceptional performance (11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6). 

In the semi-final, the 17-year-old from Hérault will face the winner of the match between the Japanese Harimoto Tomokazu (9th in the world) and Chinese Fan Zhendong (4th) to secure a medal, the first since the silver of Alésien Jean-Philippe Gatien at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

An incredible level at the end of the match

Unlike all his matches since the start of this Olympic tournament, the scenario was again different for Nathanaël Molin's player.

While he had largely led against the Swede Kallberg or the German Ovtcharov, before being caught up against the latter in Round of 16, Lebrun never managed to break away from Yun Ju Lin, against whom he had never lost since 2022. 

Each player having dominated a set in turn until a beautiful was needed to separate the two men. In this seventh and final set, the Montpellier player did not let the Taiwanese breathe, leading 7-0 thanks to splendid shots. Before blowing up the Paris Sud Arena.