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The protégés of Loïc Belguise did not manage to create the feat for the leader of Pro A Dames. The Metz TT came across much stronger. In Saint-Denis, the Messines lost (3-1), after more than three hours of battle.
The Metz table Tennis players had the opportunity to end the year on a good note at Saint-Denis and thus continue their momentum of recent days. After an easy victory in Normandy atEntente Saint-Pierraise (6e) in Pro A, Loïc Belguise and his team qualified to Hodon’sin ETTU Champions Leaguefor the quarter-finals last Friday. The Mosellanes finally finished their road trip with a trip to the leader: Saint-Denis TT 93.
Side Saint-Denis, Hsing Yin LIU (n°9) as well as Barbora Balazova (n°13) were absent from the match sheet. On the side of Metz TT, Charlotte Lutz (n°21) had not made the trip.
Mariia Tailakova opens the Metz TT entry counter
At 7 p.m., the Russian Mariia Tailakova was the first to rush into the room in the Paris suburbs. Aligned as number 1 that evening, Messina was opposed to the Chinese Chengzhu Zhu. Very early, Mariia Tailakova showed his accuracy on the forehand and took control. In a first one-sided confrontation (3-0), the bronze medalist in the 2017 European Championships by teams offered to Metz the first point in this duel at the top (1-0).
In the second match, Adina Deacon faced the French n°1, Prithika Pavade (No. 3 in the monthly ranking). The exchanges were fierce between two of the best table tennis players in the division. Very ahead of her age, the 20th in the world (20 years old) won the first set. However, the Romanian Adina Deacon held on and made his opponent doubt. The match swung in favor of Messina (2-1). The young left-hander was destabilized by the forehand ofAdina Deacon. Finally, in the mind, Francilienne once again turned the match around (2-3) and gleaned the first point for Saint-Denis in this disputed evening (1-1).
Saint-Denis accelerates and ends up winning
In the absence of Charlotte Lutzit’s the Luxembourger Sarah DeNutte who played the third match. In bad shape from the start against the Dutchwoman Jie Li (40 ans), Sarah DeNutte gained momentum in the second set (9-4). However, the experienced Jie Li was employed in defense. His atypical backhand allowed him to regain momentum. The Luxembourger seemed helpless and suffered a bloody blow (7-0), without ever reacting again afterwards. Messina lost 3 sets to 0. Saint-Denishaving more physical and mental freshness, recorded under the aegis of Jie Li his second point of the evening (2-1).
Finally, Adina Deacon had one last chance to push the debates into a fifth match. Once again in a tight match, the Romanian ended up giving in for the second time of the evening. Always in contact with Chengzhu ZhuMosellane missed a few opportunities and lost in 4 sets (3-1).
Courageous, Loïc Belguise’s players had opportunities to return from Saint-Denis with a result. The Metz TT must ultimately settle for one point to end the year 2024. In 2025, the table tennis players will have the opportunity to defend their current 5th place in Pro A hard as iron, in order to reach the play-offs. They are also expected in the Champions League with a place in the semi-final up for grabs.
Saint-Denis 3-1 Metz TT
Zhu (St-Denis TT 93) – Tailakova ( Metz TT ) : 7/11, 9/11, 10/12
Pavade (St-Denis TT 93) – Deacon (Metz TT): 11/9, 8/11, 6/11, 11/4, 11/6
Li (St-Denis TT 93) – De Nutte (Metz TT): 11/4, 11/9, 11/7
Zhu ( St-Denis TT 93 ) – Deacon (Metz TT): 13/11, 7/11, 12/10, 11/8
Photo Credit : Julien Buret / Let’s Go Metz (One)
