The French team was beaten (4-2) this Thursday by Japan in the final of the mixed team event of the World Championships in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Without the Abe siblings, Olympic and world champions with Japan, the French clan had a chance of winning the gold medal, but in very complicated oppositions, the Japanese managed to take over the Tricolores.
For the first fight of this world final, Alexis Mathieu (-90 kg) was surprised by Goki Tajima after a waza-ari. A few minutes later, the Japanese did it again by performing an ippon on the French judoka. The new World Champion Romane Dicko (+70 kg) restarted the match thanks to a waza-ari-awasete-ippon in less than a minute of opposition. Tied on points, Joseph Terhec (+90 kg) failed to give the advantage to the Blues. Facing Hyoga Ota, he bows after two waza-ari.
But Sarah-Léonie Cysique (-57 kg), Olympic champion in mixed teams, breathes new life into the French after eleven seconds of opposition, she blocks her opponent Haruka Funakubo by waza-ari-awasete-ippon. For his second Worlds, Joan-Benjamin Gaba (- 73 kg) was dominated just before the golden score after a chokehold by Kenshi Harada. Facing Saki Niizoe, third in less than 70 kg, Marie-Eve Gahié did not manage to take her revenge on the individual event, she also lost on strangulation. The Japanese thus clinched their seventh title in a row in this mixed team event.
Throughout the day, the French responded on the tatami mats. Exempted from the first round, the France team began its competition against Georgia in the second round of the team event. Faces closed and concentrated, the Blues have directly mastered their opposition by leading the Georgian collective 4 to 1 thanks in particular to a waza-ari from Sarah-Léonie Cysique. In the quarter-finals, France was very quick against China, with three victories by immobilization, the French clan easily qualified for the semi-finals and above all made it to the final after dominating Israel (4-1).
France leaves the World Championships with five world medals including the title of Romane Dicko.