Kaïla Issoufi silver medalist at the world judo championships in -78 kg, third medal for France.

Finally a third podium for the Blues. Frenchwoman Kaïla Issoufi won the first silver medal for the French delegation at the world judo championships, Friday October 9, by winning the final of the under 78 kg category, in Baku (Azerbaijan).

Issoufi, the first tricolor to compete in a final in these Worlds, did not manage to push her success to the final, beaten by the Emirati Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko on ippon, and nor to capitalize on her good victory in the semi-final against the German Anna Monta Olek, world number 1, at the last second.

At 25, Kaïla Issoufi, who is participating in her first world championships, joins Shirine Boukli (in less than 48 kg) and Dayyan Boulemtafes (in 73 kg), bronze medalists, the only bright spots in a week that had been complicated up until now for the Blues. She continues her successful 2026 season, after her victory at the Grand Slam in Tashkent in March and her bronze medal at the European Championship in Georgia.

Another Frenchwoman entered in the category, Audrey Tcheuméo was eliminated in the round of 16 by the same Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko, in form this season with four medals including two Grand Slam titles, in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).