Paris Olympic Games 2024

[travelt123]

Hugo is practically done unless Felix cracks.

 

[gospodindark]

Hugo isn't trying to play to Felix FH like FZD played couple of days ago.

 

[NextLevel]

The rule that whoever beats Hugo wins the bronze will now be going for the third consecutive Olympics.

 

[AutomaticBackhand]

Idk what was wrong with Hugo the last 2 matches but something was off.

 

[turbozed]

Damn that was kind of a lousy match. Feel bad for Calderano. He definitely didn't show up in this bronze medal match and I'm sure that'll bother him for a while.

On the bright side, Felix got a medal for France at home in Paris.

This is an amazing result for French table tennis and TT as a whole's popularity I think. We might see some great new French talent (in about a decade or so)

 

[enoxzr]

Felix looked ruthless today, absolutely amazing performance by him.

Bronze at the Olympics at age 17 is quite the astonishing feat.

 

[travelt123]

The French crowd got their money’s worth. Congrats Felix!

 

[NextLevel]

Idk what was wrong with Hugo the last 2 matches but something was off.

He dealt with players who had tactics that threw him off and the skill to control his power.

 

[backspacer]

Hugo left the arena immediately after the loss. Didn't even wait for his coach.

 

[andzejgolot]

Big respect for Brazilian coach to avoid using Timeout in first set and Perfect late Timeout in six last set and no more toilet break.
Heart-shaped box.
Big time for Truls

So his trainer helped him to not get any medals. Nice work for Brazil.

 

[zeio]

MS Bronze Medal Match
Calderano (4) 0-4 F. Lebrun (3) (-6, -10, -7, -6)

Former head coach of HKTTA Chan Kong Wah says Felix is a prodigy, that he could reach higher if he gets a Chinese coach and a personal trainer to get him started on weight training (assuming he hasn't started on that yet). His current issue is that his game is 不夠細膩/not nuanced enough and that he plays 太隨意/on a whim too much and not enough 套路/set plays.

When asked how he compares with Harimoto, Chan says Harimoto is another prodigy in his own right as he had a head-start for being 3 years older, and that Felix doesn't even have 20% of what Harimoto gets in resource.

Former HKG player Daryl Hung and Chiu Chung Hei point out that Felix's shots have speed only but lack power at the moment. For Calderano, his tendency to back off from the table is a loophole of his game.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/paris-olympic-games-2024.34358/post-468411

Matter of the fact: Whoever beats Calderano will be the bronze medalist.

 

[NextLevel]

Damn that was kind of a lousy match. Feel bad for Calderano. He definitely didn't show up in this bronze medal match and I'm sure that'll bother him for a while.

On the bright side, Felix got a medal for France at home in Paris.

This is an amazing result for French table tennis and TT as a whole's popularity I think. We might see some great new French talent (in about a decade or so)

He showed up, the problem is that when people come up with tactics to play you, you have to have solutions and he didn't have any. He still hasn't solved his tendency to back off the table and this gives his opponents time and angles to exploit if they can handle his quality. Felix takes the ball very early and tends to add sidespin naturally to his backhand so it isn't easy to get into or stay in rallies on the backhand with Felix.

 

[NextLevel]

Hugo left the arena immediately after the loss. Didn't even wait for his coach.

Kinda sad, his coach had done a great job working on aspects of his game but other holes still remained to be exploited. And the failure to call timeout in the SF in game 1 is going to be a forever missed opportunity. But it is likely more a momentary thing, Munier has been with him for life almost.

 

[turbozed]

He showed up, the problem is that when people come up with tactics to play you, you have to have solutions and he didn't have any. He still hasn't solved his tendency to back off the table and this gives his opponents time and angles to exploit if they can handle his quality. Felix takes the ball very early and tends to add sidespin naturally to his backhand so it isn't easy to get into or stay in rallies on the backhand with Felix.

Tactical advantages really do make all the differences in the end result.

It may not have changed things, but I would've liked to see an earlier timeout, a reversal of fortune bathroom break, or at least some tactical stalling from Hugo. Maybe he's also used to the fast pace like Lebrun and it wouldn't have helped at all, but at some point you gotta try something different I feel.

 

[kindof99]

The other element missing here for some is that Sun Yingsha as a 3 event player has played a lot of matches. While we shrug it off, she and Wang Chuqin were due. I suspect on some level China will revisit what this means though it might not matter since it is more about the team than the individual.

From the olympics system, there are usually someone playing three events. I think sys just did not prepare enough to beat cm from their last match.

 

[kindof99]

Everyone has been wondering why Hugo didn’t serve long more often. It worked most of time, but then he switched to short. Watch how cm served long yesterday. It might not work in one time, but she kept serving long and that helped her a lot.

 

[turbozed]

From the olympics system, there are usually someone playing three events. I think sys just did not prepare enough to beat cm from their last match.

Think maybe this draw really could've overloaded SYS in terms of weirdness to prepare for. The doubles final featured an unknown pair, one using disruptive pips.

In the singles she drew Akula which probably required dedicated time to prepare for as well with a different disruptive style.

Then she had to face Hayata who the CNT probably regarded as their biggest threat. Turned out to be a breeze in the end but I'm sure they didn't treat it that way.

CM had a way easier and more standard road to the finals, with way more gas in the tank and less distractions.

 

[NextLevel]

From the olympics system, there are usually someone playing three events. I think sys just did not prepare enough to beat cm from their last match.

Not necessarily, you can play only 2 events with the right team configuration (Xu Xin didn't play singles). Playing 3 is events is a country's choice, but in that case, maybe scheduling should be a bit more favorable. SYS has beaten Chen Meng more times in the last 2 years than Chen Meng has beaten her. It has a bit of the ML-WH dynamic, but SYS even beat CM at the WTTC final. But SYS does have an issue in that Chen Meng had an advantage backhand to backhand and is overall the physically stronger player. So if they both play their best, Chen Meng will hit the more consistently heavy ball with less athletic demands (which is what playing 3 events taxes).

 

[vvk1]

Great match for Felix, completely dismantling Hugo.

P.S.: Hugo is the new Timo, mentally weak under real pressure, no real results.

 

[NextLevel]

Everyone has been wondering why Hugo didn’t serve long more often. It worked most of time, but then he switched to short. Watch how cm served long yesterday. It might not work in one time, but she kept serving long and that helped her a lot.

IMNSHO, Hugo's serve game is extremely lazy.