France surprise Sweden to become European champions
France surprise Sweden to become European champions
BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP): France beat holder and world champion Sweden 4-3 to win back the European men's team table tennis title after 10 years here on Wednesday.
The shock result, achieved from 0-2 down, took place despite two defeats for world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien, and revealed how much the Swedes missed their former world champion Jorgen Persson, who injured his neck in a car crash.
The deciding victory was scored, for the second successive day, by 20-year-old Christophe Legout, who beat the 1988 Olympic bronze medalist Erik Lindh in three thrilling games. Legout had also won the decider against Germany in the semi-finals.
The holders were nevertheless given a good start by the Olympic gold medalist Jan-Ove Waldner, whose brilliance began to shine from the second game of the opening encounter.
Waldner found plenty of resistance early on from Legout. But after the Swede had come from 16-20 and saved six game points to win the first game 25-23, he quickly went to 9-2 in the second before winning 21-12.
A devastating blow to French hopes followed immediately. Peter Karlsson, who won one of the crunch encounters in the world team final in Gothenburg last year, now brought down Gatien 21-15, 21- 16.
Nevertheless France began a magnificent recovery when their number two Patrick Chila beat Sweden's out-of-form number three Lindh 21-19, 21-14.
France also took the doubles when Gatien and Damien Eloi won 21-16, 21-16 against the former European men's doubles champions Waldner and Lindh.
That made the score 2-2 and Gatien then put up a much better fight against Waldner than when he lost in the Barcelona final. However Gatien fell 18-21, 21-19, 21-14.
The holder then advanced to within sight of the title, with Karlsson, as cool as before, taking the first game against Chila and advancing to 12-10 in the second. But Chila refused to lie down, producing some startling blocks and counter-hits to snatch the second game 21-19, and then coming back from 10-15 down in the third game, took the third 21-19.
Legout proved himself to possess the coolest head of all, coming from a game down, to beat Lindh 18-21, 21-10, 21-17.
He was quicker in the counter-hitting rallies, more flexible in the distances he was able to play from the table, and more steadily aggressive when it mattered.
Waldner said afterwards: "I knew we had to play one hundred percent without Persson, and we are very sad not to have won five in a row."
France's coach Christian Martin commented:"When it was 3-3 I knew that Legout was the man who would not let us down. He always helps us in tight situations."