Hortense Mballa.
His first was painful. Barely enough time for a fight in the -78 kg category, and it was all over. On August 10, 2016, during her baptism of fire at the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, Hortense Mballa Atangana was beaten by the Polish Daria Pogorzelec. A big disappointment for the one who had just won the title at the African level. Then followed a period of depression. The Cameroonian even almost broke with judo. But the desire for revenge and the support of those close to him enabled him to hold out.
Five years have passed. And here is Hortense Mballa Atangana again at the Olympics. From this Friday, July 30, the Cameroonian judokate will go to storm an Olympic medal in Tokyo, this time in the category of +78 kg. She will face the Turkish Kayra Sayit for his entry into the running.
«A medal in Tokyo, I believe in it.»
Currently 14th in the Olympic ranking, the native of Bikok in the Central region of Cameroon wants to write history in the Japanese capital. “A medal in Tokyo, I believe in it», She hammers.
The Indomitable Lioness has relied above all on the quality and consistency of her work for many years. In the same way that she trains with intelligence, courage, tenacity. She does not forget to forge a mind of steel, a question of not breaking down in the face of adversity.
«Hortense has evolved a lot since 2016, confirm Aline Abolo, his former trainer. She’s an athlete who really wants to win. She is ready to pick up the medal wherever it is.»
Its main asset? “It is his determination and his ability to vary his technique during fights.», Answers the technician. Who says they are convinced that Hortense Mballa has a card to play in Tokyo 2020. “She learned from her past mistakes, she says. Today, I think she is stronger, more mature and more ambitious. She has a chance to make the podium. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. ”
Judo, a choice of his mother
At 29 years old, Hortense Mballa is on a good progression curve. And it is increasingly making an impression internationally. In February 2020, the quadruple African champion won the bronze medal at the Grand Slam in Dusseldorf, Germany. A year later, at the Doha Masters, which brought together the 36 best judokas in the world in each category, she finished fifth. She would later win bronze at the Grand Slam in Antalya (Turkey) in April 2021.
So her mother was right when, when she was little, she suggested that she do judo. “I was too rowdy a kid at school. So my mom said to me: ”you will go calm down by doing judo ”», she likes to rewind when asked to retrace her course.
Hortense Mballa began to tread the tatami mats at the age of eleven. She entered the high level in 2010 and quickly became champion of Cameroon. A performance that allows him to participate in his first African championships the same year. She comes out as a team bronze medalist.
A year later, she flew to France where she joined the Espoirs pole in Rouen thanks to a scholarship from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Twelve months later, during an internship, she was spotted by Rodrigue Chenet, the trainer of the Judo club of Château-Gontier. The latter convinced her to join him in Mayenne to set up their Olympic project. Since then, they have formed an inseparable pair.
Kigoum WANDJI
