Germany’s table tennis stars have won more than 40 medals at the World Cup, European Championships and Olympics since 2010. But the big time is over. New faces dominate. Above all, 18-year-old Felix Lebrun. He is not seen as a threat. Quite the opposite.
The story of Felix Lebrun sometimes has a fairytale feel. At the age of 18, he had already won two Olympic medals. He is currently filling every hall in his homeland. Broken down to Germany, his success story is somewhat reminiscent of Timo Boll at his beginnings: young, spectacular game, defining style in his sport. A player of the century.
The only problem for the successful German table tennis sport is: The new Timo Boll comes from France. And he has a brother named Alexis, who is also only 21 years old and has just become European champion for the first time.
The only top international tournament that takes place in Germany is running in Frankfurt am Main until Sunday (can be seen on the streaming channel Dyn). And it’s easy to see there: a lot is changing in table tennis right now. But time is working against the German team.
The two Lebruns. Olympic silver medalist Truls Möregardh (22) from Sweden. The young Chinese Wang Chuqin (24) and Lin Shidong (19) in first and second place in the current world rankings: These are the new faces on the German side, even after the withdrawal of the record European champion Boll, his long-time teammate Dimitrij Ovtcharov (36), Patrick Franziska (32) and Dang Qiu (28) face each other.
Ovtcharov and Boll’s successes have blocked generations
“I am very relaxed about the 2028 Olympics. But for 2032 we definitely need two or three new players. We have to build a new generation,” says national coach Jörg Roßkopf. The former double world champion has been the head coach of the German men since 2010. And since then, his players have won a total of 47 medals at World Championships, European Championships and the Olympic Games in singles, doubles and with the team.
But Roßkopf also knows that the successes of Ovtcharov and Boll have “blocked one or two generations”. Benedikt Duda reached the European Championship final in October. Ricardo Walther is in the quarter-finals in Frankfurt. But they are also 30 and 32 years old.
The fact that the Lebrun brothers in particular are currently shaking up the table tennis world is not only perceived by the Germans as a threat. On the contrary. “The Lebruns are bringing in a lot of fresh air. And that also brings the others along with it. It’s great for our sport,” says Patrick Franziska.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, Felix Lebrun’s decibel levels were determined like those in a disco – that’s how loud it was in the hall. The same spectacle was repeated two weeks ago when the 18-year-old won the WTT Champions tournament in his hometown of Montpellier.
His rise is reminiscent of the young Boll, who played his first international match at the age of 16 and was number one in the world rankings at 21. “The big difference to me is: When I was 15, I trained maybe twice a week, two days a week. Otherwise, I sometimes played with a few friends in the outdoor pool at the Steinplatte,” says Boll. Felix Lebrun, on the other hand, “at the age of 18 had already stood in the hall for so many more hours than I did when I was 18.”
The Lebruns’ uncle was himself number 14 in the world rankings. Her father also played professionally for a time. The family organized the rise of the two brothers completely without the structures of the French association. And Boll sees an advantage in this too.
“A great inspiration,” says Lebrun about Boll
“The Asians are pushing our sport brutally. Even eight and nine year olds feel like they have a big team around them,” he says. “That’s why all Europeans who want to make it need special conditions. The Lebruns live from their family structure. At that time, an entire Bundesliga team moved to my hometown.” So that the young Boll could train with his teammates after school.
Felix Lebrun himself sees Boll as a great role model. “He is a legend of our sport,” he said in Frankfurt. “I might not play his game – he a little more controlled and I with more speed. But he was the Chinese’s biggest challenger for years. That’s why he’s a big inspiration to me.”
This also applies to the German players. Vice European champion Duda completely surprisingly defeated Lebrun at the European Championships and says: “If I made it into the top 20, I also want to get into the top 10.” Even at 30, his journey is not over yet. Timo showed us all that careers can last a long time.”
dpa/pk
