Tokyo 2020: Larbie Bouriah, ambassador of the little white ball for Algeria
Larbi Bouriah will be the only representative of Algeria for table tennis at the Tokyo Games.
© Larbi Bouriah
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
5 mins
Larbi Bouriah will be the sole representative of Algerian table tennis at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next summer.
The table tennis player validated his ticket during the qualifying tournament in Radès, Tunisia, a year ago now.
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During his childhood in Créteil in the Parisian suburbs, Larbie Bouriah did not hesitate to choose between football and table tennis.
“
In football, I won a tournament, the cup stayed with the club, it disappointed me.
In ping-pong, my first trophy, I brought it home, it was for me.
I discovered that I preferred individual sports
, ”he recalls with a touch of mischief.
From now on, the small white ball will be more important than the round ball.
Ninth Algerian to experience the Olympic Games in table tennis
Larbie Bouriah is the ninth Algerian to experience the Olympic Games in table tennis.
He got his ticket to the Olympic qualifying tournament in Radès in Tunisia in 2020. The last appearance of an Algerian small racket in his hand at the Summer Olympics dates back to the Beijing edition in 2008, with the participation of Idir Khourta.
37-year-old Larbie Bouriah, who has participated in four world championships and two African Games, could not imagine for a second participating in the planetary meeting of sport.
Not even in dreams.
“
It's the icing on the cake of my career.
It was unexpected because I was leaving from afar and there were only four places to take.
I tried my luck and it was over,
”says the one who has been in the Algerian team since 2007.
His first outing with the Fennecs dates back to 2008 during the Arab Championships in Morocco.
Larbie Bouriah comes home light-hearted with a team silver medal around his neck.
However, during the first discussions with the Algerian national team, it was only a question of a
sparring partner
for the Franco-Algerian.
"
It was an opportunity to be seized, I would never have had the opportunity to join the France team
," he said realistically.
Today, all of this makes her and her family proud.
As a child, Larbie Bouriah spent all his summers in Kabylia.
One day, naively, he suggested to his parents a trip to the United States.
The father's response was not long in coming: "
What do you want us to go to Las Vegas for?"
»Larbie Bouriah, seated with his legs stretched out in the small office in the gym, still laughs.
Now, he visits his family in the mountains of Kabylia three to four times a year with "
pleasure
" to "
recharge
".
“
I wanted to do like the others, travel and represent this team.
I worked like crazy to live these experiences with Algeria.
The Olympics are a surprise.
I thought I had missed my chance for London 2012 and Rio 2016. I was younger, I had a better level,
”says the only boy in the family, who became a sports educator.
Hours of kicking the ball
Despite the weight of the years, the passion is still overflowing.
He trains every day in a room located under the Boulogne-Billancourt swimming pool in the Parisian suburbs and goes on internships with the Algerian selection for the Olympics.
Outside, the winter sun is shining brightly.
He repeats his gestures until he gets drunk, under the neon lights.
"
Ping
", for the sound of the ball hitting the racket, and "
pong
" for the sound of the bounce on the table, became an Olympic sport in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.
A continent that excels in exercise.
This sport represents hours of training for each athlete.
It is impossible not to be a Stakhanovist to succeed.
“
I had a form of weariness between 18 and 20 years old, and it finally came back,
” he admits all the same.
Larbie Bouriah (297th in the world in the latest ITTF ranking) seeks above all "
stability
" and "
pleasure
" in his sport.
He evokes his admiration for the duel, for the balance of power against a close opponent, who can read everything in the eyes.
“
It's like a boxing match!
We are looking for light and quick downforce and speed in the shots.
The physical dimension has grown in importance,
”he dares at the same time.
Passionate, Larbie Bouriah discusses the details: the placement and action of the fingers on the racket, the placement of the body facing the table.
"
Everything is played on small details, we are always in search of perfection
", he advances with lyricism without forgetting the psychological side.
“
You always have to be in control of your nerves.
After a competition, you are more exhausted in your head than in your body,
”he says.
The lunch break is already over.
Barely swallowed a coffee, he left for three hours of hard work with Tokyo 2020 still in sight.
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2020 Olympics
Japan
Algeria
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