[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":300},["ShallowReactive",2],{"player-en-marcel-gbetable":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"achievements":6,"affiliate":11,"birthPlace":12,"birthYear":13,"body":14,"boules":13,"boulesModel":13,"club":89,"description":261,"extension":262,"faq":263,"flag":279,"fullName":50,"height":13,"image":280,"lastUpdated":281,"meta":282,"nationality":283,"navigation":11,"nickname":60,"path":284,"role":285,"seo":286,"socialLinks":13,"stem":287,"tags":288,"worldTitles":298,"__hash__":299},"players\u002Fplayers\u002Fen\u002Fmarcel-gbetable.md","Marcel Gbetable - Benin's First World Champion | Petanque Player Profile",[7,8,9,10],"World Champion, mixed doubles (Cotonou, Benin, 2023), with Laima Sambo - Benin's first-ever World Championship title","World Championship silver, men's doubles (Cotonou, Benin, 2023), with Marcel Bio","World Games gold, Men's Precision Shooting (Chengdu, China, 2025) - Benin's first-ever World Games medal of any color","Talaudiere International Tournament champion (2025), with Boule Tropezienne",true,"Bohicon, Benin",null,{"type":15,"value":16,"toc":251},"minimark",[17,22,110,114,118,122,148,172,190,201,205,212,216,244,248],[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"marcel-gbetable-quick-facts","Marcel Gbetable - Quick Facts",[23,24,25,36],"table",{},[26,27,28],"thead",{},[29,30,31,34],"tr",{},[32,33],"th",{},[32,35],{},[37,38,39,51,61,70,80,90,100],"tbody",{},[29,40,41,48],{},[42,43,44],"td",{},[45,46,47],"strong",{},"Full name",[42,49,50],{},"Marcel Gbetable",[29,52,53,58],{},[42,54,55],{},[45,56,57],{},"Nickname",[42,59,60],{},"Le Colonel",[29,62,63,68],{},[42,64,65],{},[45,66,67],{},"Born",[42,69,12],{},[29,71,72,77],{},[42,73,74],{},[45,75,76],{},"Role",[42,78,79],{},"Shooter (tireur)",[29,81,82,87],{},[42,83,84],{},[45,85,86],{},"Club",[42,88,89],{},"Boule Tropezienne (Saint-Tropez, France)",[29,91,92,97],{},[42,93,94],{},[45,95,96],{},"World titles",[42,98,99],{},"1 (mixed doubles, 2023)",[29,101,102,107],{},[42,103,104],{},[45,105,106],{},"World Games titles",[42,108,109],{},"1 (Men's Precision Shooting, 2025)",[18,111,113],{"id":112},"benins-first-world-champion","Benin's First World Champion",[115,116,117],"p",{},"Marcel Gbetable, known to fans as \"Le Colonel,\" is the most decorated pétanque player in Beninese history. Before September 2023, no Beninese player had ever won a World Championship title in the sport. Gbetable changed that on home soil, at the 50th World Pétanque Championship in his own country, and followed it up two years later with another national first: Benin's first-ever medal of any color at the World Games.",[18,119,121],{"id":120},"career-overview","Career Overview",[115,123,124,125,128,129,132,133,140,141,147],{},"Gbetable's breakthrough came at the ",[45,126,127],{},"50th World Pétanque Championship",", held in Cotonou, Benin, from 8-17 September 2023. Partnering ",[45,130,131],{},"Laïma Sambo"," in mixed doubles, he defeated France's ",[45,134,135],{},[136,137,139],"a",{"href":138},"\u002Fplayers\u002Faudrey-bandiera","Audrey Bandiera"," and ",[45,142,143],{},[136,144,146],{"href":145},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fdylan-rocher","Dylan Rocher"," 13-8 in the final, played on the Esplanade de l'Amazone in front of a jubilant home crowd. It was Benin's first-ever World Championship gold in pétanque, and the first time the Beninese national anthem had ever been played at the sport's world championships. Gbetable later described the night as overwhelming: he stayed awake until morning, unable to sleep after the win.",[115,149,150,151,157,158,164,165,171],{},"Earlier in the tournament, Gbetable and Bio had beaten Germany's ",[45,152,153],{},[136,154,156],{"href":155},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fmatthias-laukart","Matthias Laukart"," and Moritz Rosik in the men's doubles semifinal to reach that final. He was back on court within hours for the men's doubles final, partnering ",[45,159,160],{},[136,161,163],{"href":162},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fmarcel-bio","Marcel Bio"," against France's Dylan Rocher and ",[45,166,167],{},[136,168,170],{"href":169},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fchristophe-sarrio","Christophe Sarrio",". That match, played immediately after his mixed doubles triumph, went the same way as the earlier one in reverse - France won 13-8, in a tense contest that arbiters twice had to pause to settle an enthusiastic crowd. Gbetable and Bio took the silver medal, giving Benin two podium finishes on the same night at its own World Championship.",[115,173,174,175,178,179,182,183,189],{},"Two years later, Gbetable added a second historic first for his country. At the ",[45,176,177],{},"2025 World Games"," in Chengdu, China, he won the gold medal in ",[45,180,181],{},"Men's Precision Shooting"," on 16 August, beating Italy's Andrea Chiapello 29-25 in the final - Benin's first-ever World Games medal in any sport, of any color, making Benin the 80th different nation to reach a podium across the history of the Games. Thailand's ",[45,184,185],{},[136,186,188],{"href":187},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fratchata-khamdee","Ratchata Khamdee"," took bronze in the same event.",[115,191,192,193,196,197,200],{},"Gbetable's success at home opened the door to a European playing career. He signed with ",[45,194,195],{},"Saint Restitut Pétanque SRT"," in the Drôme, France, in February 2024, making his French competitive debut partnering Jean-Michel Puccinelli at the National Mixed Triplette tournament in Grasse. By September 2025 he had moved to ",[45,198,199],{},"Boule Tropézienne",", helping the club's triplette win the International Pétanque Tournament of Talaudière, defeating the defending champions in the semi-final and the runners-up of that July's Marseillaise pétanque championship 13-7 in the final.",[18,202,204],{"id":203},"playing-style-and-technique","Playing Style and Technique",[115,206,207,208,211],{},"Gbetable is a ",[45,209,210],{},"tireur"," (shooter), the specialist role responsible for precision strikes that displace an opponent's boules rather than the gentler placement shots of a pointer. His composure across two finals played back-to-back on the same night in Cotonou - winning one and narrowly losing the other - is the clearest public evidence of his consistency under pressure, and his 2025 World Games gold confirmed that precision shooting, specifically, is his standout strength.",[18,213,215],{"id":214},"achievements-and-honors","Achievements and Honors",[217,218,219,226,232,238],"ul",{},[220,221,222,225],"li",{},[45,223,224],{},"World Champion, mixed doubles"," (Cotonou, Benin, 2023), with Laïma Sambo - Benin's first-ever World Championship title",[220,227,228,231],{},[45,229,230],{},"World Championship silver, men's doubles"," (Cotonou, Benin, 2023), with Marcel Bio",[220,233,234,237],{},[45,235,236],{},"World Games gold, Men's Precision Shooting"," (Chengdu, China, 2025) - Benin's first-ever World Games medal",[220,239,240,243],{},[45,241,242],{},"Talaudière International Tournament champion"," (2025), with Boule Tropézienne",[18,245,247],{"id":246},"legacy","Legacy",[115,249,250],{},"Marcel Gbetable's 2023 mixed doubles title remains the single biggest moment in Beninese pétanque history - a home victory that put the country's national anthem on the sport's biggest stage for the first time. His 2025 World Games gold added a second landmark, proving the 2023 breakthrough was not a one-off. For a country better known internationally for football and athletics, Gbetable has given Beninese pétanque two genuinely historic firsts inside three years, and his move onto the competitive French club circuit suggests more may follow.",{"title":252,"searchDepth":253,"depth":253,"links":254},"",2,[255,256,257,258,259,260],{"id":20,"depth":253,"text":21},{"id":112,"depth":253,"text":113},{"id":120,"depth":253,"text":121},{"id":203,"depth":253,"text":204},{"id":214,"depth":253,"text":215},{"id":246,"depth":253,"text":247},"Marcel Gbetable profile: the Beninese shooter who won Benin's first-ever World Championship gold (2023) and first-ever World Games medal (2025 precision shooting gold).","md",[264,267,270,273,276],{"question":265,"answer":266},"Who is Marcel Gbetable?","Marcel Gbetable, nicknamed 'Le Colonel', is a petanque shooter from Bohicon, Benin. He won Benin's first-ever World Championship gold medal in mixed doubles in 2023, then added Benin's first-ever World Games medal (gold in precision shooting) in 2025.",{"question":268,"answer":269},"What has Marcel Gbetable won?","In 2023, partnering Laima Sambo, he won World Championship gold in mixed doubles at Cotonou, Benin, beating France's Audrey Bandiera and Dylan Rocher 13-8 - the first world title in Beninese petanque history. The same evening, partnering Marcel Bio, he lost the men's doubles final 13-8 to France's Dylan Rocher and Christophe Sarrio, taking silver. In 2025, he won gold in Men's Precision Shooting at the World Games in Chengdu, China, beating Italy's Andrea Chiapello 29-25 - Benin's first-ever World Games medal in any sport.",{"question":271,"answer":272},"Which club does Marcel Gbetable play for?","He signed with Saint Restitut Petanque SRT in the Drome, France, in February 2024. As of September 2025 he plays for Boule Tropezienne, with whom he won the Talaudiere International Tournament.",{"question":274,"answer":275},"Is Marcel Gbetable the first Beninese petanque world champion?","Yes. His 2023 mixed doubles gold, won with Laima Sambo on home soil in Cotonou, was Benin's first-ever World Championship title in petanque, and the first time Benin's national anthem was played at a petanque World Championship.",{"question":277,"answer":278},"What position does Marcel Gbetable play?","He is a tireur (shooter), the player responsible for precision throws that displace an opponent's boules.","🇧🇯","\u002Fimages\u002Fplayers\u002Fmarcel-gbetable.png","2026-09-02",{},"Benin","\u002Fplayers\u002Fen\u002Fmarcel-gbetable","Shooter",{"title":5,"description":261},"players\u002Fen\u002Fmarcel-gbetable",[289,290,291,292,293,294,295,210,296,297],"marcel gbetable","benin petanque","world champion","le colonel","cotonou 2023","world games 2025","shooter","laima sambo","boule tropezienne",1,"MHauQ9AB2LV84GqFrLxKgtXPbcC7ENO9hGnuNOtV9UY",1790080172210]