(by Steve Hopkins, photo ETTU)
The French team with the Lebrun brothers, Simon Gauzy, Thibault Poret, and Flavien Coton were one of the favorites when action began at the 2025 European Team Table Tennis Championships in Croatia, and they didn’t disappoint as they lost just one match in their four team matches. France defeated Slovakia and Belgium 3-0 to reach the Semifinals and then dispensed with the German squad 3-1. Benedikt Duda over Alexis Lebrun was the lone win for Germany as the two top seeds in that half of the draw battled to reach the Final.
The other half of the draw was full of surprises. Top seeded Sweden fell 3-2 to Romania as savvy veteran Ovidiu Ionescu was joined by 20 year old Eduard Ionescu, and 19 year old Iulian Chirita and each logged one win. Slovenia then upset Portugal 3-1 with Darko Jorgic winning twice and Deni Kozul winning once. This set up an unexpected Semifinal match-up which Romania dominated winning three straight with Chirita defeating Jorgic in the first match.
Despite the great run by Romania, the Final was all-France. Alexis Lebrun topped Chirita 3-0, Felix Lebrun defeated Eduard Ionescu 3-1, and Simon Gauzy topped Ovidiu Ionescu 3-1.
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