Jean Desplanques, platinum wedding with table tennis

Jean Desplanques86 years old, lives in Le Molay-Littry (Calvados). He wore out his pants at elementary schoolIsigny-sur-Mer. It’s there, at 10 anslet it begin table tennis. The table tennis player had created a club in Isigny then table tennis lessons at the Molay-Littry college and at the Foyer Rural in the town.

“I started in the school playground. I was 10 years old. There was only one table and it was frequented by college students. We didn’t have any activities during recess, so that was good. » This is how Jean Desplanques became passionate about this sport. An activity that he really liked and for which he had a good paw.

Became a teacher, he taught in the same school, in Isigny-sur-Mer, and organized small tournaments there with fellow teachers on Thursdays, a day when there was no school.

Bringing kids together around a sport

The objective was to bring kids together around a sport. Then, he will create a club and teach this sport in the “can”. This is what the temporary village hall was called, built after the war. A simple corrugated sheet and glass wool held by a mesh. “We had around ten young people and a few adults. »

Arrival at Molay-Littry

In 1972he arrives at Molay-Littry. For two years, he followed training to open “practical” classes first in Alençon, then in Le Mans. “When I got to college, I talked a lot with the PE (Physical and Sports Education) teacher, René Lehot, to explain to him my desire to play ping-pong at college. »

“We didn’t have a table because they were too expensive!” »

Around 1976Jean creates a course for middle school students. They trained in the gym, but the small room didn’t exist yet. Adults like Michèle Bertin, Bernard Langeron, Daniel Pillan, among others, come to join him. Training takes place on Friday evenings, in a good mood, but it was very sporty.

“We didn’t have a table because they were too expensive! We made them with 18/20 mm thick plywood that we painted and trestles that were offered to us by the municipality. We added fillets. At each session, we had to assemble and dismantle the tables which were heavy. We only had five or six. »

Table tennis manager at Foyer Rural

In 1978it integrates the Rural Home of Molay-Littry and takes the position of responsible for the table tennis section until 2021. “We have young people, adults and retirees who attend the courses. There are more and more of them and we train on Friday evenings at the gym from 5 p.m. with two slots. » Today, Jean only goes to training from time to time.

Admirer of Lebrun

He admires the Lebrun brothers who won the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. He justifies their success by “a lot of training, very fast reflexes and incredible handling of the wrists”. Jean and his wife, Léone, are still members of the Foyer Rural du Molay-Littry.

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