The reigning Olympic champions against the reigning world champions: the Worlds in Tashkent ended with a “classic” of judo. For the fourth time in a row, France and Japan met in the final of the mixed team event of the world championships on Thursday 13 October. And for the fourth time in a row, the Japanese won (4 wins to 2), taking their revenge on the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo.
Before meeting in the final, both French and Japanese dominated the competition in the morning. The former dominated Georgia (4-0), China (4-1) and Israel (4-1), while the latter gave no chance to the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands and Germany , all beaten 4-0.
Despite the absence of its leaders Teddy Riner, injured, and Clarisse Agbegnenou, who gave birth to her first child in June, the French team gave the Japanese a hard time. Crowned world champion in the over 78 kg category the day before, Romane Dicko continued her momentum by winning all her fights of the day by ippon in less than a minute. It was she who brought France to 1-1 in the final, after the defeat of Alexis Mathieu.
Then, after Hygoa Ota’s victory against Joseph Terhec (over 90 kg), Sarah-Léonie Cysique once again showed that she transcended herself in the team events. The Olympic vice-champion beat Haruka Funakubo, against whom she has always lost individually, to put the two teams in a tie (2-2).
“We mark our territory”
Despite disputed fights, Joan-Benjamin Gaba and Marie-Eve Gahié then lost. ” We are disappointed but there is pride all the sameconfided, just after the final, Christophe Massina, manager of the French women’s team, at the microphone of La chain L’Equipe. The Japanese shook a little, and it’s important to make an impression. »
This silver medal closes a half-hearted World Cup for the tricolor delegation, which brings back five medals from this week from Tashkent – one in gold, one in silver and three in bronze.
Despite premature eliminations and individual disappointments, the France team showed that it was always necessary to count on it. ” When Sarah-Léonie manages to let go, there is no easy way. Roman, I’m not even talking about it. And Marie-Eve also had a great day. We mark our territory and show that team competition is part of our DNA », Estimates Christophe Massina. With, for objective, Paris 2024.