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Judo Grand Slam in Antalya: France clears off (almost) everything

Five gold medals were up for grabs on the first day of competition at the Judo Grand Slam in Antalya. French judoka took their four.

France cleaned up big time on the first day of competition at the Antalya Judo Grand Slam. The country won four of the five gold medals.

The event was opened by Director General of the World Federation, Vlad Marinescu, and by the Chairman of the Turkish Federation, Sezer Huysuz. Afterwards, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the victims of the severe earthquake that shook Turkey in February.

In the women’s up to 48 kilograms, 24-year-old Blandine Pont prevailed – already her third victory in a world tour tournament this year. In the final she defeated Shira Rishony from Israel with an impressive O-Soto-Gari. Yavuz Gürhan, responsible for sports in the Antalya region, handed over the medals.

She is at a good point in her career, Pont said. “And I don’t want to stop now, for example, but I want to keep improving to aim for even bigger goals,” she said.

There was also jubilation in the French camp in the male lightweight division, with Luka Mkheidze defeating Dilshot Khalmatov of Ukraine. Mkheidze is a big name in the world judo circuit: He won bronze at the 2021 Summer Olympics. It’s his second win at a Grand Slam, the first coming in Tel Aviv in mid-February.

Fatih Uysal, deputy director general at the Turkish Ministry of Sports, was in charge of the award ceremony. “What helps me deal with the pressure is, for example, breathing exercises. I do those regularly when I’m under pressure. And I try not to think too much about the competition, but think about my family and the people close to me,” Mkheidze said.

Amandine Buchard, ranked seventh in the world, is one of the best on the mat in the 52 kilogram weight class. In Antalya, the Frenchwoman defeated Chelsie Giles of Great Britain, the world leader, in the fight for gold. Buchard is a diligent collector of precious metals, she is among others the Olympic silver medalist of Tokyo, three times bronze at world championships she also took.

Her Antalya success was Buchard’s twelfth tournament win on the world tour. Lisa Allen, in charge of event execution at the World Judo Federation, awarded the winner.

First gold for Gobert

Compatriot Maxime Gobert is still a long way from such a collection of successes. The 21-year-old claimed his first world tour victory in Turkey. In 2021 he was European junior champion, and last year he also won the European title in the U23 age group. Now Gobert has also proven his class in the adult field, in Antalya he relegated Mongolian Erkhembayar Battogtokh to second place. And he is still in 18th place in the world rankings for men up to 66 kilograms, Gobert is 29th.

The 21-year-old received the precious metal from the hands of Juan Carlos Barcos, who works for the Judo World Federation as Director of International Relations.

Silva: Always a medal contender

In the women’s 57-kilogram category, Rafael Silva has been one of the medal contenders for years. The 35-year-old won her 28th world tour medal in Antalya, her third in gold. Silva finished third twice at the Olympics (2012 and 2016), was runner-up in 2013 and bronze medalist in 2014 and 2017. Christa Deguchi from Canada was Silva’s opponent in the final in Turkey, so two of the currently best judoka in the weight category up to 58 kilograms met: Deguchi is second in the world ranking, Silva third.

IJF Referee Director Florin Daniel Lascau handed Silva the gold medal in Antalya.

Despite vociferous support from the stands: The Turkish Judo Federation remained without precious metal on the first day of competition in Antalya. The next attempt follows this Saturday.

By Thomas