Dijon table tennis player Léa Ferney lost in the final of the T11 category table tennis tournament at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. She is the first French paralympic vice-champion in adapted sport.
The surprise is equal to the performance for Léa Ferney at the T11 category table tennis tournament of the Tokyo Paralympic Games. The young French table tennis player won silver after her loss 3 sets to 1 to Russian world number 1 and reigning world champion Elena Prokofeva. “I didn’t think I would make a medal, it’s nice”, reacted timidly the youngest of the French Paralympic team. This medal is all the more significant, as she is the first French paralympic vice-champion in adapted sport.
???????????? VICE-PARALYMPIC CHAMPION!
It’s historic!
For the first time in history, an athlete in para table tennis adapted conquers the silver medal for France.
Huge bravo Léa, the youngest of the delegation ???????? #AllezLesBleus | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/SsJa3pGS70– France Team (@EquipeFRA) August 28, 2021
Paris 2024 target
The French woman suffering from a chromosomal deficiency achieved an incredible journey in Japan. After qualifying, she managed to reach the final, notably beating the reigning Paralympic champion and world number 2 Ukrainian Natalya Kosmina in the quarter-finals. She had validated her ticket at the Paralympic qualifying tournament last June.
This medal also rewards all the work of a club: Dijon Table Tennis. Several dozen members had also gathered in the club’s premises in Dijon to follow the final. For Yann Ivray, sports educator at the club, Léa Ferney achieved a performance beyond expectations.
“This silver medal is more than good. There are no regrets. The starting plan was Paris 2024. With her qualification for Tokyo at the Paralympic qualifying tournament last June, she had already taken one step ahead.”
Several dozen members of Dijon Table Tennis were present at the club to follow Léa Ferney’s final.
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© France Télévisions / Carine Bosvy
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For Jérôme Hardy, club president, this silver medal is “a collective victory”. “The club has been focusing on the development of young people, women, disabled sports and integration in the Fontaine d’Ouche district for several years., explains Jérôme Hardy. Lea (Ferney), it is the symbol of all the values of the club. “
A Paralympic duo
And despite the defeat in the final, Yann Ivray prefers to see the positive. “She is super fulfilled. Today, the step was too high but there is a milestone, she is more than in her place with this silver medal.” To realize her Paralympic dream in Paris in 2024, the CAP hotel student is well supported. In addition to her trainer Xu Gang, on site with her in Tokyo, she can also count on Bruno Roux, trainer at the club, Patrick Monneret, female referent at the club, but also on a certain Sébastien Verdin, her physical trainer and also a member of the French wheelchair rugby team. “It’s the beautiful story of these Paralympic Games, they flew together to Tokyo”, says Yann Ivray.
So the goal is simple at the 2024 Paralympic Games. “The goal is that both (Léa Ferney and Sébastien Verdin) bring back a medal from Paris. ”
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