Simon Gauzy concluded the European TOP 16 in Antibes with a flourish.
The Frenchman, who was the European vice-champion last October, secured the third place overall after a perfectly managed match against the Ukrainian Kou Lei. A piece of good news never comes alone, as Simon Gauzy also qualifies for the Men’s World Cup taking place from October 20 to 22 in Liège, Belgium.
The German Dimitri Ovtcharov won the men’s competition thanks to his victory against the Russian Alexander Shibaev by 4-2, while the Dutchwoman Jie Lie won the women’s competition.
Here is Simon Gauzy after his match: “Beyond the result, it’s really a relief. I felt that I was playing really well here, and I would have been disappointed not to be on the podium, hence the celebration at the end. We were both very tired. Before the match, we talked a lot about tactics with Patrick Chila to do better than in previous confrontations. I gave my all, I had to beat him one day. I’m glad to be increasingly consistent at the highest level, it’s not an achievement, but it’s important. I’m proud of it, but we have to keep going. After the defeat against Shibaev, the crowd supported me a lot. It’s really great to play in such an atmosphere.”
In the stands were the Mayor of Antibes, Mr. Jean Leonetti, Jean-Philippe Gatien, the world champion in 1993 and 13-time French champion, and the President of the Organizing Committee Bernard Grosso (congratulations to all the volunteers for the perfect success).
