2024-07-29 23:20:06
On site 2 of the Yves-du-Manoir stadium in Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine), everyone, witnessing to the cause of the Bleues, completely ignored the result shown on the two big screens: France 0 – Belgium 5 After throwing olas in all this more than a complicated meeting for the captain Emma Ponthieu and his colleagues, he gave the victors a standing without restraint. “Come on Les Bleues, your supporters are here! », “He who does not fly is not French”…
Celebrating despite their team’s defeat, that’s the spirit of field hockey. The Blues are not really in the mood for celebrations in the club which will become, after the Olympics, the HQ of the French Hockey Federation (FFH). Because for these top athletes, the important thing is not just to participate. But very professional and grateful for this careless support, they started a level of honor as a thank you. In return, they are also praised.
After losing 6 to 2 on Saturday against the Dutch, reigning Olympic champions, the Tricolores also conceded a goal from the Red Panthers, the Belgian women’s team, 4th in the world rankings, sixteen points ahead of them . A world, a galaxy even, still separates them from the best countries on the lacrosse world. For the first time in its history, the selection of French women was invited to the Olympic games but the baptism was painful.
Among the boys too, the scores are, for the moment, clear, hoping for better days, from this Tuesday morning against Spain which is within their reach. Fifty-two years after their last appearance at the Olympics, the Blues were crushed 8-2 on Saturday against Germany before suffering another setback the following day to the Netherlands 4-0.
“What is important to us is commitment”
But then what does it feel like to fix it at home? “We stayed 100% away from the score. What is important to us is commitment, and there, we give everything on the pitch. We could be embarrassed if we had only played half, but here, we put all our soul into it so as not to be disappointed and to show that we are in our position”, replied, at the end of the game, the goalkeeper of the Bleues Mathilde Pétriaux. Even when he goes for the ball several times, he tells himself each time that “this is the last goal”. ,” he explained.
For Emma Ponthieu, the leader, the score is not the main thing. “We are here to experience, we don’t have, in these Olympics, result goals but performance goals,” he recalled.
For the strong forces of the French side, these prisons are not really surprising. “We hope to have scores like these, we are not crazy, we are 20th in the world rankings,” emphasized Philippine Delemazure, a very promising 18-year-old player.
Coach Gaël Foulard wants to be sure: “We are still learning. We have to get a somewhat tough score, we will not feel sorry for ourselves, we will do better next time…. “
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