The Portuguese table tennis team finished fourth this Saturday at the European Games after losing 3-2 to France for the bronze medal in Krakow.
In the double Portuguese-French duel in the struggle for third place, and the Portuguese were already celebrating bronze (3:0), the eighth national team in the world ranking even won with a score of 2:1, however, allowed the restoration to the seventh choice of the same hierarchy, which thus Celebrated.
Betting on Joao Heraldo, world No. 39, for two singles matches, Marcos Freitas (No. 62) and Thiago Apolonia (No. 47) faced off in doubles for the first time against Simon Gozi (No. 37) and Alexis Lebrun (18th). won 3-0.
After two 0-3 starts, Freitas and Apolonia, more consistent and calmer in decisive moments, prevailed with a double score of 12-10, and in the third set they started 6-0 and closed with a score of 11-3, which gave Portugal an advantage . .
Against individual gold medalist Félix Lebrun (31st), who is only 16 years old but who defeated Freitas in the final, Joao Heraldo could not avoid his opponent’s superiority, translated to 11-6, 11-6 and 13-11, in this the case recovers from a 5-9 deficiency.
At 1–1, Thiago Apolonia faced Alexis Le Brun and got the better of him 11:8, 4:11, 11:9 and 13:11 to give Portugal a 2–1 win, with two singles.
A replay of the singles final brought together Marcos Freitas and Félix Lebrun, the prodigy who again prevailed, this time 3-1, with partials 11-8, 9-11, 13-11, recovering from 3-6 setbacks and 11-10, and 11-7.
With the score at 2:2, Joao Heraldo and Simon Gozi had to decide who took the bronze, while the Frenchman won with a score of 11:8, 11:9 and 11:6.
Portugal won 14 podiums in Krakow 2023, of which three golds, seven silvers and four bronzes have already been won.
The third European Games will take place until Sunday in Krakow and in the Polish region of Lesser Poland, with a program of 30 sports and 48 participating countries, including Portugal, with a delegation of more than two hundred athletes.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.