Judo Worlds: in the team competition, the Blues drink the chalice to the dregs

Until the end, the French judo team suffered in Baku, the scene of the World Championships. After seven days of individual competitions for a meager result – compared to the ambitions displayed by the Federation to win four titles – of two silver medals and as many bronze medals, the Blues sank into the team competition. The one that allowed them to finish the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 in style by defeating the Japanese at home. Before confirming, three years later, at the end of an anthology final against the Japanese ended with a magic roulette spin and a final victory, which remains in the legend, for Teddy Riner.

But this Sunday, in the Azerbaijani capital, there is no Teddy Riner, still convalescing following a shoulder injury, nor Clarisse Agbégnénou or Joan-Benjamin Gaba, the other heroes of the Arena Champ-de-Mars. And above all, no help, this time, from roulette, which will hardly have been favorable to the blue ambitions. The day had started normally with a calm victory over Kazakhstan, even if Tieman Diaby, weighing more than 90kg, had lost from the start, thus launching what was going to be a nightmarish day for him. But behind, Martha Fawaz put the Blues back in the direction of march with a welcome little yuko, before Dayyan Boulemtafes, Clémence Emé and Aleksa Mitrovic won their respective fights (4-1). Heading to the quarter-finals and Russia…

A meeting which started rather well for France with the successes of Boulemtafes, the impeccable bronze medalist in less than 73kg who took on a new dimension during these Worlds at the age of 20, and of Clémence Emé. Leading two victories to one, the Blues saw the Russians come back to the score thanks to Mansur Lorsanov's ippon on Aleksa Mitrovic but behind, Romane Dicko outclassed Elis Startseva head and shoulders (3-2). Alas, when it was time to conclude, Diaby came across a bone in the person of Tamerlan Bashaev (3-3) and the famous roulette designated the under 90kg category. That of Mitrovic who lost again to Lorsanov. The title prospect had just vanished. There remained the repechage route to consider bronze…