At 19, the French table tennis player – bronze medalist in mixed doubles – took on a new dimension in Paris, despite her defeat this Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the singles.
At the Arena Paris Sud
Flora, how do you feel after this defeat in the quarter-finals?
Flora Vautier: It was a big match, which I came out of quite happy with despite the defeat. There were a lot of balls that went close, so we’ll say that it’s due to my young age and my lack of years of “ping”. Nevertheless, it’s the first time that I’ve played such a big match against her, who is world number 2. She stressed a lot, which is my satisfaction. And I’ll be ready for Los Angeles, with enough experience and technical baggage so that the 10-10 balls turn in my favor. I’m happy with these Games, from which I’ll only have good memories.
You won’t dwell too long on the two set points that flew away at 10-8 for you in the second set…
Yes, I’ll quickly move on. The referee wasn’t necessarily on my side either. Obviously, I had to take points away from me today, but it doesn’t matter. I’m so happy for my opponent who played a great game, who was very present on the points that counted.
We have the feeling that you had a lot of fun during all these Games…
Yes, clearly, I loved it (smile). We’re going to celebrate the medal with “Floflo” (Florian Merrien with whom she won bronze in mixed doubles) until the end of the Games by going to encourage the other French people. For a first Games, I would never have thought I would do so much with a medal and two quarter-finals.
Florian was just saying that you had made a lot of progress during these Games. Do you share his feeling?
Yes, I agree. I didn’t think I would be able to fight like this until the end, whereas before I tended to crack and make more mistakes when things didn’t go my way. This time, it was less the case, surely thanks to the crowd and the atmosphere of these Games. I’m happy.
What will you remember overall from this first Paralympic experience?
That stress doesn’t overwhelm me. That I’m present, combative. That the public boosts me. I’ve gained a huge experience.
You have gained experience, but also notoriety on these games with now nearly 20,000 subscribers on your Instagram account. Did you expect this?
Yes, a little bit. In any case, that was my goal (smile). As for the experience, I knew that I wasn’t coming to Paris to win an individual medal because I’m not at the level yet. In a way, I was there to prepare as best I could for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. There, my goals will be very clear while here, they were more vague. And I feel like I’m ahead of schedule. I’m going to celebrate this experience as it should be and then, I’m already ready for LA (laughs)
