Table Tennis Profile: Jean-Philippe Gatien
Jean-Philippe Gatien is a retired French table tennis player and has represented his country in four Olympics events. Philippe has won a silver medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He teamed up with Patrick
Chila for whom it was the only medal out of the five Olympics he has participated in. Philippe was selected as ‘Table Tennis Role Model’ for the youth Olympic Games in 1992.
Gatien started playing table tennis at the age of five and had to leave his family at an early age of 13 as he joined INSEP (National Sports Institute, Expertise and Performance) in France. He was lucky that his coach Regis Canor took his responsibility
and groomed him. Philippe won his first national Table Tennis Championship in the junior category in 1983 but he could not impress the selectors in the national team. In 1986, Philippe won the Euro Asian competition as he defeated the Chinese World Number
six Yi Teng and secured his place in the national team.
The 42-year-old won the first Table Tennis Championship in 1993 followed by the Men’s World Cup in 1994. He has secured one gold medal and two bronze medals at the World Championships along with one silver and one gold medal at the World Cup. Gatien has
dominated the French National Championships and has won the event 13 times along with one silver and one bronze medal at the Olympics.
The French qualified for the 1992 Olympics where Gatien had to face Jan-Ove-Waldner but could not resist against the skills of his Swedish opponent. Waldner won the match 3-0 as he mentioned after the game, “I do not recall a guy putting many effects and
varying as investments and camouflage. Horrible,” he said. Jean became the first French player to win the World Championships in 1993 as he defeated Jean Michel-Saive in the finals after an intense match. Gatien defeated Primorac and Podpinka in the gruelling
semi-finals as he showed his dominance during the World Championships.
Gatien appreciated the services of Michel Gadal who has coached the player from 1979 to 1992 and has helped him overcome his weaknesses. He believed that it was his coach who made him what he is today and without his help he would have never been able to
make it that far. On winning the World Championships he mentioned that he equally shares the win with Gadal who has helped him develop as a better player both mentally and physically.
After retirement, Gatien formed an association by the name ‘Ping Attitude’ which aimed to promote table tennis especially amongst the youngsters who had financial problems. French Table Tennis Federation appreciated the interest of the player and fully assisted
in ensuring the smooth operations of his association.
He announced his retirement on May 15, 2004 and after a long career with many wins to his account he is still the best table tennis player ever produced by France. Gadal is now promoted as the National Technical Director of the France Table Tennis Federation
and still works alongside Jean. Both Gadal and Jean run workshops and educate the new talent about the sport.
Gatien is considered to be one of the most gifted and talented table tennis players to have emerged from France. His competitiveness and hard working attitude has helped him win many tournaments. Gatien’s work after retirement has provided the youth in France
with a platform to aspire to in table tennis. His dedication to the sport of table tennis makes him a true Champion.
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