Beaten in the semi-final by the Czech Jiri Suchanek, the Frenchman had to settle for a 3rd place, far from his ambitions.
All series must come to an end. Fabien Lamirault had a bitter experience of this on Wednesday when he lost in the semi-finals of the para-table tennis singles tournament in the MS2 category, where he had reigned supreme since his victory in Rio in 2016, followed by a second in Tokyo five years later. The Frenchman lost in four sets to the Czech Jiri Suchanek (9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 10-12), who was able to exploit the difficulties of the two-time defending champion in adapting to this table and its rebounds, “very different” of those he is accustomed to.
Very tight, the first set was going to tip at 9-9 on two symbolic points of this semi-final. Namely a backhand error from the Frenchman, followed by a retro-effect high ball from the Czech who used them so much in this match that he ended up exasperating the fiery crowd at the Arena Paris Sud. But not Lamirault who estimated after the match that this shot made “part of the game, just like a good serve or a top spin”. The first set having flown away (9-11), the Longjumeau native nevertheless managed to quickly get back in the saddle by dominating the second act (11-6). The desire to see him fly towards the final was then great…
Alas, it was not going to happen. The Czech resumed his undermining work and Lamirault was reduced to running behind during the entire third set. Even if he came back from 5-9 to 9-10 to try to make his opponent doubt, the latter did not tremble to regain the advantage two sets to one. With his back to the wall, even strongly encouraged, the 44-year-old Frenchman could not find “the right fuel”in his words, and at Suchanek’s second match point, he logically bowed out (10-12). With a bronze medal around his neck that he was hardly satisfied with, even if it brings France’s total to 50 at these Games.
