2024 Olympic Games in Paris: “We will fight! “, promises badista Lucas Corve, temporarily deprived of the Games

The shock and pain are commensurate with years of effort to achieve the Holy Grail – participation in the Olympic Games. Lucas Corve and Ronan Labarre are the second French pair in the men’s doubles after the Popov brothers in the Olympic race published on Tuesday, and are therefore excluded from the Paris Olympics, although they finished first at the European Championships, which ended this Sunday. .

The downgrade is undoubtedly due to a calculation error by the International Federation. Incomprehensible scenario.

After the astonishment and “emotional explosion” at the publication of this new ranking, Issy-les-Moulineaux licensee Lucas Corvet wants to keep alive his hopes of competing with Ronan Labarre in the men’s doubles at the Paris tournament. Olympic Games.

How are you ?

LUCAS CORVE. On Wednesday I was in shock. It was difficult to imagine that what was happening was real. It’s been a week since we were officially declared qualified for the Olympics. Wednesday’s new rating was very difficult to digest. Since yesterday (Thursday) we have been trying to fight and see what we can do on our part to hold the BWF (international federation) accountable, but we have not received a response. We would like clarification from them. From an emotional point of view, this is brutal news. All I was looking forward to was the opportunity to celebrate my qualification for the Olympics with my family, to join them because I hadn’t seen them much all year. This is an old dream of my family, which has been with me since childhood.

What were your actions?

We informed all the authorities who were not all in the know (Kojo, CIO, etc.) and tried to get their support. We are also trying to look at legal actions we can take, but this is just the beginning and it is difficult to say what will happen next. We are talking with a lawyer… The Federation supports us and sees from its side what it can do. We have contacted the players’ representatives at BWF. They insist on an answer, but at the moment there is nothing. This is radio silence. They need time to react.

Have you contacted Christ and Toma Junior Popov?

No, we didn’t have any exchanges with them. The situation is complicated. It’s difficult to predict what will happen in the coming weeks, but we have been fighting for a spot at the Olympic Games for three years now. We thought we had it, but we don’t have it anymore, so we will continue to fight to get to the end.

Given this turn of events, are you disgusted with your sport?

No. But the mistake is incredible and scandalous. The time is catastrophic. This is what everyone feels in the bad and sports world. There is injustice in sports, and we are the victims of this injustice. We will hold BWF accountable. Let’s see how they justify their mistake. We have no time to lament our fate, we must move forward. We don’t even know if these people realize how much harm this is causing us. This error remained in the ranking for 11 months. Many players had more points: this changed the rankings, tournament participation, seedings, strategies of each player…

Is it possible to qualify for the Olympics with the Popov brothers?

Many people think about this option. This is what will help the badminton world, from the international federation to the players, thinking about the national federations. But it’s hard to hope for that because it’s not our responsibility and there have never been 17 doubles players. However, there is some hope as players have benefited from wild cards in the past. It is the IOC that will ultimately have the power to bring athletes into the sport or not. Perhaps such an outcome is possible, but it is difficult to pin all our hopes on it.