2024-08-01 23:33:39
A warm public, appropriate songs and a festive atmosphere… Contrary to appearances, and despite the incessant encouragement of the supporters, the Bleues du volleyball did not achieve the feat of overthrowing the great Chinese team this Thursday evening in the great hall 1 of the Arena Paris Sud on the occasion of their second group match of the Paris Games.
Despite a great personal sacrifice, exciting resistance and some good defense, the players of the French team were defeated in three sets (18-25, 16-25, 19-25) in 1h10 of the game by China , three-time Olympic champion in the presence of 4 stars 40 years after the first meeting (1984, 2004 and 2016).
“We fought really hard from start to finish, we knew we could compete but we made some stupid mistakes, that’s the experience,” said Héléna Cazaute. We hope that in a few years we will be in good company. We know the road is still long but we are confident and we want to compete with these teams. »
Beaten by Serbia (3-0) on Monday for the first Olympic match in their history, the Blues suffered a second setback without taking a set, which ended their slim hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the reward. Even in the event of exploitation and victory in 3 sets against the United States on Sunday, they will be behind the United States, ensuring having the best percentage of sets won / lost in the event of a tie on the points.
Elimination without surprise. For their first appearance in the Olympic competition, Les Bleues, who qualified as the host nation, started significantly behind their opponents. While Serbia (world No. 9), the United States (6th and next opponent on Sunday) and China (5th) have been among the world’s elite for years, France (19th) is discovering it.
The training process promises to be delicate for Héléna Cazaute’s partners, and it is. They know you. But the players have shown clear improvement since the Belgian coach took over in 2018. At that time they were still “54th in the world” in the memory of Nina Stojiljkovic. “It’s a clear improvement, I’m happy that the team has joined and progressed,” continued the organizer. It is important for us to play matches against the top 10 teams to maintain a constant high level, which we were not able to do today. We don’t want to stay there. »
But all this is not enough in the eyes of China. A team with 7 players (out of 12) over 1.90 m compared to only 2 in the Blue team. After a few minutes of the game, France has already removed several steps away (0-5). The first point, on the attack by Amandha Sylvès, caused a chain reaction of cheers and noises from everyone. The beginning of a long road of cross for the artists but of the festive evening in Hall 1 in Paris. Every time Amandine Giardino’s partners have won a point it is celebrated as a victory.
After a quick loss of the first two sets, the blues of the Games played a rebellion in the 3rd. Lucille Gicquel dropped the ball at the feet of the Chinese and maintained the hope of exploitation (12-12). In a minute. “The 3rd set was a little better but we met a better team from China that was physically better than us,” notes Lucille Gicquel. We play against teams that are among the best. We fought well in defense but we still have work to do in attack. After all, it’s our first year at this level, it takes time. »
The next match is scheduled for Sunday (1pm) against the United States. There are no opportunities, but there is no doubt that everyone will respond. “We don’t have time to be sad, there is no room for gratitude,” Fidani Gicquel, top scorer for Les Bleues with 10 points. We had a good game against USA in the VNL (League of Nations) this summer, we hope to do the same thing again. Our state of mind is the same when we enter the space, we give everything and in such an atmosphere, we cannot be sad. You should take advantage. » Helena Cazaute announced: “We really want to get out of this competition without regrets.
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