Thomas Siniecki, Media365: published on Wednesday January 24, 2024 at 10:43 p.m.
Teddy Riner will raise the crowds at his home in Bercy in ten days, his first appearance on the road to Paris 2024.
We did not know exactly when Teddy Riner would resume, who had not fought since the World Championships in May 2023 (apart from a team Champions League with PSG in December, in Belgrade, where he won his three fights). Excellent surprise, it will be for the Paris Grand Slam next week in Bercy! “He feels good, he had good training in Morocco and Brazil and he had good feelings,” simply explains the manager of the French men’s team, Baptiste Leroy, to Ouest-France. “He didn’t think he would be ready so early, but as he found himself in good shape and had this opportunity to fight in front of the French public, in a sort of dress rehearsal before Paris 2024, he said to himself that would be interesting to go there.”
Leroy: “I found him explosive and his face sharp, that was it!”
There is also this points requirement, and not just to qualify. If it’s far from being real pressure for him, undefeated since Tokyo – where he won the Olympic bronze medal – since he won the Budapest 2022 and Paris 2023 tournaments while finishing world champion for the eleventh times in his career (a total acquired since 2007), it is still important because the first eight in the world ranking will be protected on Friday August 2 at the Champ-de-Mars (ephemeral Grand Palais). “Casually, for him, it must count a little. If he can steal a lot of points to be in these top eight, he is not going to deprive himself of it. He still needs 2,000 points to do it, I think that with him it should mean two or three major tournaments between now and Paris 2024…”
Delayed last year in Abu Dhabi, where he had to withdraw in October due to an insufficiently healed knee, he also has “enough experience to keep things to himself”, according to the technician: “And then, you’re not going to change everything at 34 either. His judo is generally known to everyone, so you might as well try to fight to also send messages into the heads of your opponents. I found him explosive in training, he was an attacker and he had a sharp face, that was no mistake. His movements were lively, that was it!” Looking forward to Sunday (next February 4)!
2024-01-24 21:49:19
#Grand #Slam #Riner #Paris #week
