Jean-Denis CONSTANT, former coordinator of the EMC and current coach of the French girls team (girls born 1998 and 1999), presents the team.
GIRLS 98 :
Marie MIGOT (Souché Niort) :
Last year’s winner of the EMC, she will be trying to do what has never been done before, that is, win it again. She has quite a challenge facing her, what with last year’s finalist, England’s Ho Tin Tin, the players from Eastern Europe, especially the Russian girls, her friends of the ITTF Hopes selection, and, I hope, the other French girls. Still, her performances in France and abroad in cadets (she won the 6 Nations tournament last week end) make her the favourite, which often means a lot of pressure for players in such categories.
Malaurie MATHIEU (Blainville – Damelevières) :
She has been doing very well in various competitions – 2nd of the STIGA Masters in Belgium, finalist of the French Under 13 championships although she was only 12, we count on her and her determination to unsettle foreign players.
Audrey ZARIF (US Saint Denis) :
Greatly improving in training, she only needs that small spark to get really good results. She will have nothing to lose, and that is precisely in such circumstances that she is successful. 3rd last year, she is much more than a mere outsider.
GIRLS 99 :
Eloïse SAINT DIZIER (Etival) :
4th last year though she was playing against girls a year older than her, Eloïse will need to go and get victories rather than behave as a favourite; all the more so as it is difficult to be sure of the level of opponents in this age category.
Anaïs SALPIN (Passage d’Agen) :
She became French Under 11 champion after showing my very good things. The left-hander of the group has a lot of talent ; she will need mental strength on a par with her ability with a bat.
OBJECTIVES :
Beyond these remarks, one should not forget that the main aims of this competition are to improve training and to evaluate our level relative to other European nations. I am also very interested in what other players will do. The number of players we have is an advantage that other countries do not have, and in that respect we will be paying great attention to players born in 2000 (of which Melissa HAUSHALTER, of the organising club)
The objective of the French selection (B and G) remains to win a title, which we have done in the first 5 editions (Simon GAUZY – Vincent LENOIR – Paul GAUZY – Solène HAUSHALTER and Marie MIGOT ). The number of medals scooped up is a good indicator of the good shape of our young generations, for the present and in the future (2 to 4 medals out of 12 in the previous editions).
SUMMER PLANNING :
The girls have a first training period from 27 June to 10 July in Vittel, and then from 8 to 20 August, still in Vittel (except for Marie MIGOT who will be training with the ITTF Hopes in Korea).
After that, a mini-training period will take place in Schiltigheim, on Tuesday 24 August, with the ITTF Hopes.
By Jean-Denis CONSTANT, in charge of the French Girls team at the EMC, 2010 edition.
