There was no Franco-French final at the Judo Worlds in the -48 kg category, because of the Japanese Natsumi Tsunoda, who won gold for the third year in a row. Shirine Boukli, number 1 in the world ranking, has to settle for silver. Blandine Pont (3rd in the world) fails at the foot of the podium.
The distance duel between the two Tricolores, engaged in the race to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, nevertheless punctuated the first day of competition, Sunday May 7, in Doha, Qatar. In the men's category - 60 kilos, Luka Mkheidze, bronze medalist in Tokyo, and Cédric Revol lost as soon as they entered the running.
Natsumi Tsunoda, the nightmare of French women
Thanks to the draw, Shirine Boukli and Blandine Pont evolved in mirror all morning, each in a part of the table. A course that gave hope for a tricolor double. But Natsumi Tsunoda, who beat Blandine Pont in the semi-finals, then Shirine Boukli in the final, redesigned the scenario.
The now triple world champion won by ippon, on a sacrifice technique, after 2 min 36 s of combat. She had already narrowly missed immobilizing Shirine Boukli in the first seconds of the final. "It's the head to knock off the category. I'm not disappointed, that's how it is. There are things that are moving forward, it's a final and there will be others. It's a nice silver medal, "all the same relativized the Frenchwoman when she left the tatami.
For good reason: missed out on her Games in Tokyo, then the world championships in 2022, Shirine Boukli holds her first world medal. After a timid entry into the running, against the Spaniard Laura Martinez, her former pet peeve, the double European champion gradually picked up the pace, winning by ippon against the Maltese Katryna Esposito.
Her semi-final turned out to be a first test, against the Japanese Wakana Koga, 8th in the world and vice-world champion 2021. Opportunistic, Shirine Boukli managed to overthrow her opponent with a sacrifice technique.
At the microphone of La Chaîne L'Equipe at the end of the competition, Séverine Vandenhende, her federal trainer, only retained the positive: "Shirine demonstrated today that she could be present in a world final. The job now will be to repeat this feat. She has all the tools to succeed. »
The smile of one can only contrast with the disappointment of the other. "I came for the best, so I can't be satisfied with that," Blandine Pont told La Chaîne L'Equipe. However, for her first world championships, she did not go far from the podium. The Montpellier player lost to Wakana Koga, by strangulation, in the fight for the bronze medal.
Before colliding with the two Japanese, the French had easily erased the Russian Sabina Giliazova, then emerged victorious with the golden score of a long fight against the Kazakh Galya Tynbayeva. She finally won on penalties (hansoku make) against Brazilian Amanda Lima in the quarters.
Fifth in these Worlds, the young woman has made dazzling progress this season, where she won three Grand Slams – World Cup stages – and won her first international selection. But his Olympic future remains, for the moment, compromised by competition from Shirine Boukli.
For his return, Luka Mkheidze misses out
In men, in - 60 kilos, the Olympic medalist Luka Mkheidze can harbor regrets. After a long absence due to injury, the Frenchman no longer benefited from seeded status at these world championships and was assigned the formidable Belgian Jorre Verstraeten (7th in the world) as his opponent in the first round. Led by a waza-ari, the judoka returned to the fight, but he ended up losing in the golden score.
Cédric Revol, outsider in the category, was beaten in the preliminary round by Korean Jeon Seungbeom.
Monday, it is the turn of Walide Khyar, Daikii Bouba (- 66 kilos) and Amandine Buchard (- 52 kilos) to enter the running in Doha. The Olympic vice-champion will have the firm intention of changing metal, she who already has two individual world bronze medals.
