Neither Walide Khyar nor Joan-Benjamin Gaba, Olympic selections, nor the three other French judokas entered this Monday, May 20, managed to bring home a medal from the Abu Dhabi World Championships after Amandine Buchard’s bronze on Sunday.
By wanting to take these Worlds as a simple preparation for the Olympic Games, the French have had one series of disappointments. Like Luka Mkheidze (-60 kg) on Sunday, Walide Khyar (-66 kg) and Joan-Benjamin Gaba (-73 kg) came out before the quarters.
Came to win a title
Khyar lost in the round of 16, diminished by a rib injury sustained last week in Kazakhstan.
The world bronze medalist from Doha-2023, who remained on two entry defeats during Grand Slams in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, nevertheless put an end to this negative spiral against the young Kazakh Zhanarys Rakhmetkali, disqualified after a synonymous exit from the mat third penalty.
He continued, again in around three minutes, against the Moroccan Abderrahmane Boushita, using all his weight to make him fall on his back. Ippon.
But in the eighth, without a solution, the Frenchman, world number 17, was blocked twice by the young Tajik Emomali Nurali, world number 9.
“The Games are not now”
The 28-year-old Frenchman is now 100% focused on the Paris Olympics while still retaining lots of positive
of this day.
It was a competition, a preparation championship for the Games. Whether it goes well, whether it goes less well, it remains a preparation championship
insists his trainer Daniel Fernandez.
He already has his world medal. The medal he is missing is the Games. The Games are in Paris, it’s not now
asserts the coach.
Seeing the glass half full is the guiding idea for the home stretch: preparation by definition can also be done with elements that go less well. We have very specific points on which to rely and on which to work
.
After his European bronze medal, Joan-Benjamin Gaba was also unable to raise his level to reach the podium.
After taking out the Georgian Giorgi Terashvili, the holder in the -73 kg category was beaten in the 2nd round, rolled up on his back by the Brazilian Daniel Cargnin, Olympic (2021) and world (2022) medalist.
Joan is still on a good dynamic, he has just won his first medal in the European Championships
puts the manager of the French men’s team Baptiste Leroy into perspective.
If for Khyar as for Gaba, these Worlds were therefore a simple
step towards the Olympics, for the three other entrants of the day, it was a great opportunity for a world podium.
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It was Daikii Bouba who came closest: released in the round of 16, the French judoka had previously eliminated world No.1 in -66 kg Denis Vieru. Against the Finn Luukas Saha, who seemed within his reach, he however did not failed to implement the planned tactics
.
Among the women, in -57 kg, Faïza Mokdar was disqualified from the start for having put her head on the ground on an uchi-mata (inside mowing), a dangerous action. Priscilla Gneto, bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games, lost in the second round.
France remains stuck with one medal on the clock and will rely on Clarisse Agbégnénou on Tuesday to aim for gold.
