Eight teams for a single ticket to the Tokyo Olympics ... And a perfectly launched French team. The Olympic qualification tournament, started this Sunday in Berlin (Germany), promises to be muscular but the Blues did not tremble, offering themselves (3-0) the Serbian European champions from the first match.
“We entered this competition with a lot of uncertainty because of the injured ( Editor's note: Rossard, Clévenot ) and those who were absent ( notably Stéphen Boyer for personal reasons and ex-assistant coach Cédric Enard who left to train Estonia ) but we had a good first game, ”said captain Benjamin Toniutti. We know that this tournament will be complicated but this victory against the European Champions necessarily gives us confidence. "
The Blues were particularly able to rely on the efficiency of the young sharp Jean Patry, substitute for Stéphen Boyer, and best tricolor scorer with 22 points. "I really loved the collective state of mind," insists Laurent Tillie, the coach. “We beat Serbia but it is still in the race ( the first two in each group of four have qualified for the semi-finals ). Four years ago, for the Rio TQO, we had imposed ourselves against Russia and it was she who won the ticket, ”recalls Toniuti.
"We are ready!"
At the time, the second and third in the tournament retained a chance for Olympic qualification, which is not the case this year. Seven nations, including three Europeans (Russia, Poland and Italy) already have their Olympic qualification in their pockets, five tickets remain to be awarded in five continental TQOs. No question therefore for the Tricolors to draw plans on the comet.
"Only one ticket is at stake and we have no room for error," insists the captain. We are now thinking only of Bulgaria. A formation which has not yet started its tournament and which is the next opponent of the Blues this Monday (5 pm), while in the same group, Serbia will face the Netherlands. "We will have to be even better than against the Serbs," said Yacine Louati. There is only one ticket to fetch, all the teams dream of it and we are ready! "