Dressed in a Portuguese national team football jersey, racket in hand, Martin, 9 years old, goes through forehand exercises. Today’s goal? Succeed in placing the small white ball in a hoop positioned on the other side of the net. “It’s really not bad,” says Rémi, one of the coaches at the Nogent table tennis club. “We try to have our racket well in front of you,” he also says to the 15 other neo-pong players in the session, aged 8 to 10 years old.
Like Martin, who tried other disciplines without much success, most of the children here are novices. Installed on either side of the eight tables lined up in the gymnasium on rue François-Rolland, about ten minutes’ walk from the city’s RER station, they continue their discussions with some already wanting to try a few blows. “I like it because I can do smashes,” says the blonde at the end of training. I’m improving and that motivates me. »
