The French table tennis legend died suddenly tonight at the age of 71. Jacques SECRÉTIN the most successful table tennis player in France has died at the age of 71 the Fédération de tennis de table (FFTT) announced on Wednesday.
“His wife called me at 1am to let me know he was dead ” said Patrick MOZILLA a 20-year-old friend of Jacques Secrétin who was hosting the “Ace of Ping” show with him. “I had him on the phone yesterday morning he was fit in fact we were thinking together about the show we were going to relaunch after the confinement”.
European singles champion in 1976 and mixed doubles World champion with Claude BERGERET in 1977 Jacques SECRÉTIN also won 61 French titles and played in 495 international selections between 1962 and 1986. He was voted “best French tennis player” of the Century “and was knighted in the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit. In 2007 he published his autobiography “I am a child of the ball”.
A native of Carvin (Pas-de-Calais) he lived in Tourcoing and was still licensed at CP Lys-lez-Lannoy. Last June before the coronavirus pandemic put the sport on hold he was preparing to compete in the World Veterans Championships “This will be my last challenge but it won’t stop me from continuing to play. Holding a racket “It’s important to me.”
