Present in France this week to attend the WTT Champions in Montpellier, Steve Dainton, CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), praised the brothers Félix and Alexis Lebrun, for their success but also, more surprisingly, for their “geek” style.
Surprising exit from the boss of world ping. If we expected Steve Dainton, CEO of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), to be amazed by the success of brothers Félix and Alexis Lebrun, we less imagined that he would highlight… their look. And yet. Currently in Hérault where he is attending the WTT Champions in Montpellier, the Australian leader praised the style of the two French Olympic medalists.
“Being a geek is cool”
“They're great, generous. With these glasses they have a little geeky side, but not in the bad sense of the word,” remarks Steve Dainton in an interview with Midi-Free. Being a geek is cool. In the 70s and 80s, all scientists or engineers behind their computers were geeks. Now these guys are the cool guys. Table tennis is a bit of the same phenomenon. Before table tennis had a geeky side, now it has a cool side.”
Also a fan of the French public
For the boss of the ITTF, the Lebrun brothers “are stars, wonderful characters for ping.” Very complimentary of the two Montpellier stars, Steve Dainton is also so with the French public, in fusion on Friday evening for Alexis Lebrun's crazy victory at the Sud de France Arena: “The atmosphere inside is incredible, he observes. The public contributes to it. We know, the French public always gives a lot of positive energy.” The ping boss will still have the opportunity to see this on Saturday during the quarter-finals of the French Simon Gauzy and Alexis Lebrun (to be followed live on the channels Twitch et Youtube RMC Sport) and live commentary on the RMC Sport website and app.
