On the last day of the Jerusalem Masters, the French team had many arguments to make to bring back medals. In the wake of Shirine Boukli, titled in -48 kg and Marie-Eve Gahié, in silver in -70 kg, the women’s delegation distinguished itself as often with three additional medals on Thursday, by Romane Dicko (gold) and Coralie Hayme (silver) in +78kg, plus Audrey Tcheuméo in silver in -78kg. On the men’s side, Alexis Mathieu (-90 kg) won silver.
Dicko confirms, Mathieu in silver
Defending champion, Dicko won her second consecutive Masters. With a red world champion bib on her back, she honored her rank as leader of the French delegation. The PSG licensee beat her compatriot Coralie Hayme in the final, on a waza-ari. She reigned supreme in her category throughout the day, dominating all of her opponents. Hayme has nevertheless achieved a superb course, with in particular the victory over the Japanese Olympic champion Akira Sone, in the quarter-finals.
In the small final, Léa Fontaine was beaten, for three penalties against her against Raz Hershko. Taken by the power and size of the Frenchwoman, the Israeli managed to impose her tactics so that Fontaine, who went through the repechages after her defeat in the quarter-finals, was sanctioned three times. She finished fifth in the competition.
Alexis Mathieu lost in the -90 kg final against the Japanese Sanshiro Murao, by two waza-ari. However, the Frenchman had started his final well, being on the attack twice, without managing to score. Then he was punished by two sharp attacks from the Nippon. The PSG judo licensee therefore leaves with the silver medal, which rewards a day when he notably beat world number 8 Krisztian Toth in the first round, then world number 2 Beka Gviniashvili in the quarter-finals.
Tcheuméo silver medalist, Malonga punished by penalties
In the -78 kg final, Tcheuméo was beaten by waza-ari by the Italian Alice Bellandi, in a duel where the Transalpine showed cunning. Perhaps physically tested after a semi-final of almost six minutes against the Japanese Rika Takayama, the Frenchwoman did not find the solution. This disappointment in no way detracts from the quality of her overall performance on the day, Tcheuméo having notably beaten the world number 1, the German Anna-Maria Wagner.
In the small final of the category, Madeleine Malonga left the bronze to her opponent on three penalties. It’s cruel for her, since she has almost never been put in difficulty by Guusje Steenhuis, but Malonga was trapped by the ultra-defensive strategy of the Dutchwoman and bowed on hansoku make in the game of penalties (three shidos to two). The Blanc-Mesnil licensee was beaten by Bellandi in the semi-finals and finished in fifth place.
France narrowly overtaken by Japan
With a total of ten podiums (six for women, four for men), the French team finished second in the medal standings in this Masters, behind Japan. If the Japanese won only nine medals, the title of Tatsuru Saito in +100 kg during the last fight of the week allowed his country to total a gold medal more than the Blues. Georgia finished third with three medals, including two titles.
