by Simon Daish

Unfortunately for the Frenchman he was unable to end his club career with a win, as Angers Vaillante lost out to visiting club Roanne on the final match day of the league season.

Christophe Legout’s time as a member of the French national team spanned over 20 years and is one of the most loved players to emerge from his country.

The 1994 European Championships saw Christophe Legout join his fellow French “Musketeers” Jean-Philippe Gatien, Patrick Chila and Damien Éloi in lifting the Men’s Team trophy at the event.

Just three years later at the 1997 World Championships in Manchester, Christophe Legout was a member of the France team which achieved a silver medal finish in the Men’s Team competition.

Representing France at the Olympic Games on three separate occasions (Atlanta 1996, Sidney 2000 and Beijing 2008), Christophe Legout claimed three gold medals on the ITTF World Tour and was three-times French national champion.

One of Christophe Legout standout victories came at the 2008 Kuwait Open where he registered a huge upset against the World champion at the time, Wang Liqin in a stunning seven games duel (11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 16-14, 2-11, 11-6, 11-5).

More recently Christophe Legout took part in the 2017 edition of the ITTF Legends Tour competition which was hosted in the French city of Metz.

Christophe Legout may have lost out to the impressive defensive mind of Panagiotis Gionis in the quarter-finals (11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6), but the French star did have his fare share of opportunities in the tie and provided plenty of entertaining moments for the home fans.

Another chapter in French table tennis has been brought to a close. Christophe Legout has not only enjoyed a long and prosperous career, but along with his fellow ‘Musketeers’ the legendary player has inspired a nation of future stars who will one day aim to replicate his terrific achievements in the sport.