Lebrun brothers, the French connection in Thakkar's rise

Manav Thakkar, India's No.2 male paddler, noticed how the Lebrun brothers, the French siblings who have taken the table tennis world by storm, would "invent stuff" after training sessions even as the others would wind down.

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: They'd play a quick game with two bounces on the table, or with just high balls, or simply stationed at the net.

"It would last only for 10-15 minutes, and there is no goal as such in what they do," Thakkar said. "But who knows, maybe once in 10 or 20 times, that would come in handy."

The 24-year-old Indian has had a ringside view to the meteoric rise of 18-year-old Felix Lebrun (ranked world No.4) and 21-year-old Alexis Lebrun (No.16)—the brothers are also the top-ranked men's doubles pair—training and playing alongside them in France.

That, in turn, is also helping spur the growth of Thakkar, who has risen to world No.61 from outside the top 100 last year.

For about a month in September-October, Thakkar played for French club Nimes Montpellier Table Tennis Alliance, the Montpellier-based club that has produced and is home to the Lebrun brothers. Felix and Alexis are his teammates on match days in their top division French league and sparring partners on other days.