This Tuesday, November 19, the Juniville Marnaval Grand Est franchise narrowly lost against Nice Métropole (4-5), in a very beautiful evening, for the first of the Pro League in Saint-Dizier.
What to remember from this first of the Judo Pro League in Saint-Dizier? That the Ortiz gymnasium responded, with more than 300 people, notably many young people, around the combat mat, with a configuration close to major competitions.
With high-level judokas, like Axel Clerget, Olympic champion, present this Tuesday, for his return to his roots, he who was trained at Marnaval, this gives even more allure to this competition which is similar to international mixed competitions.
For two hours, there were ten fights between the representative of the Grand Est, Juniville Marnaval, at the gates of the Top 8, and the Niçois, the scarecrow of the group of fourteen franchises of this third edition.
If Léa Métrot dominated the darling of the public, present at the club for a decade, Mélanie Legoux-Clément, with a small advantage, the representatives of the regional structure gave everything, like Jules Cymbert, Inès Prévot, Théo Lherbier or the Cuban champion Andy Granda, an international star, author of a fast ippon.
For the rest, logic was respected and the Southerners, who had several French champions or on national podiums in their ranks, were able to win by a small point (5-4). With the downside of the evening, the serious injury to the shoulder of Mame Diarra Sylla, evacuated by the emergency services, which provoked the enormous anger of the coach.
Clément Legoux: Juniville Marnaval “not far from qualifying”
In the end, Juniville, a club from the Ardennes, and Marnaval showed a beautiful image of judo on bragarde soil, in the presence of champion Axel Clerget, who would like to enter the arena and who supported and advised the local franchise.
“It’s a very nice evening, with 300 people. My judokas have nothing to be ashamed of their performance. Nice won everything (10-0), with several French champions. We wondered if they were going to bring their best team. They did it because we were good against FLAM 91 last week,” explains Clément Legoux, one of the coaches of Juniville Marnaval, with a smile on his face despite the defeat which eliminates his franchise from the Top 8.
“Our -63 kilos (Loriane Bruhl) takes a waza-ari ten seconds from the end, while she was leading the fight. If she doesn’t take it, we win. We are not far from qualifying against the reigning champion. Mélanie (Legoux-Clément) leaves six kilos to her opponent. Not much comes down to her fight against a girl who has just won a Grand Slam medal, in -52 kg. Some, like Théo Lherbier or Jules Cymbert, went looking for a fight. We will prepare for next season. The Cuban told us see you next year.
It’s up to us to prepare our athletes. I can’t put all the Marnaval girls on every match, but the season is long. The injury of the Niçoise is part of the game. It’s a wrench, the other decides not to ride with it and she takes out her shoulder,” continues Clément Legoux, confident and motivated for 2025, and who hopes for a best draw next year. For Mélanie Legoux-Clément, satisfaction was in order despite the defeat.
“It’s not a traditional format. It’s up to us to adapt. I gave six kilos to my opponent, but I felt it less than last week. The referees whistle an advantage, while I fall flat on my face. That’s how it is. We weren’t very good tactically in a fight, even though we could have played for penalties. In the end, we could have taken a beating. Everyone got into a fight, especially the one who went heavy. It’s up to us to unite the team and find some reinforcements where we are failing,” summarizes the Marnavalese champion.
“It will give a dynamic, it will show the people of Saint-Dizier something other than traditional fights, with other rules, coaching. This shows a “show” side. There is a level across the board and everyone responded,” concludes Mélanie Legoux-Clément, satisfied with an evening that could have been perfect except for one or two details.
Nicolas Chapon
Find an interview with Axel Clerget soon.
