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Samir Sebaâ, DTN judo: “We have reached our forecasts” – Horizons

National judo technical director Samir Sebaâ was relieved after seeing the national team athletes save face. In this interview, he talks about the participation of this sport during these games. For him, the results are positive since the prognoses have been achieved.

Four medals, including one in gold, are the harvest of national judo during these games in Oran. Your impressions ?
As the number one linchpin of the federation, I consider that our athletes have not been disappointing. We have greatly improved our results compared to Turkey in 2013 with three bronze medals, or Tarragona in 2018 with only two bronze medals. Driss Redouane Messaoud’s gold was of a special flavor. We have waited more than two decades for this gold medal, after the last won by former champion Salima Souakri.
These games have introduced promising athletes…
This new generation has shown great maturity, despite their inexperience. Such a good succession shows how Algerian judo is still rich in champions.
What has been planned to put the young Driss in a healthy climate to prepare for the qualifications for the Olympiads?
He will have a scholarship from the International Union to do a three-month internship abroad. He is a judoka who progresses at high speed. We must follow him and prepare him from the outset to snatch his qualification in Paris from the first qualifying stages. As I have already stated, money is the sinews of war. If the financial means will follow, we will manage to qualify not a single athlete in Paris, but several. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has released a budget for us to prepare for the Mediterranean Games. It is clear that the Olympic level requires other more substantial contributions.
How do you plan to proceed with the selection of athletes?
We are going to prepare a strategy which consists in targeting the athletes. Besides Driss, there are also other judokas, who, notwithstanding their failure in Oran, will be included in this special preparation policy. I cite as an example Aissahine Faiza and Halata Yamina.
Qualification for the Olympics has become complicated with the current system, including the counting of points at 25% in 2022, then at 50% in 2023 and 100% in 2024. How do you plan to manage this?
We must qualify our athletes in the top 8. This will be the only alternative to have a lenient draw in Paris. Besides the financial aspect, continuity will also be a vital element in the success of the Olympic qualification campaign.
Interview conducted by Adel K.

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