As we know, France has been trying, for a few years, to rebuild a generation of male champions who in the future will be capable or receiving the torch carried so high by athletes such as Teddy Riner or Axel Clerget. Building a successful group takes time.
While French women are among the best in the world, the men have had it harder, but the signs are encouraging. Already, at the Junior World Championships, the boys, for the first time in a long time, won more medals than their female teammates. Things seem to be off to a good start in Sarajevo as well, as Yahn Motoly Bongambe (FRA) was the first of the two French finalists of the day to qualify for the final, to face Sebestyen Kollar.
It was a final for strong kumi-kata specialists. Both Kollar and Motoly Bongambe seemed a little too stressed to show their best judo but after they were penalised with two shido each, the French athlete took advantage of the situation to be more active and condemn his opponent to a third penalty. France’s men‘s team wins a first gold medal in Sarajevo.
In the first match for bronze, Gor Safaryan (ARM) and Dias Zholdybaryev (KAZ) met. Four minutes were not enough to decide the winner and three more minutes of golden score were necessary for Zholdybaryev to score with a seoi-nage to win the bronze medal, after a well disputed match.
David Leiva (USA) and Mahammad Mamaishov (AZE) were the other two qualified for a bronze medal contest. Immediately to action, Mahammad Mamaishov pinned his opponent but couldn't hold him long enough to score. It was then a battle of very low o-uchi-gari, first from Leiva, followed immediately by Mamaishov; a waza-ari apiece. This is what we call an open match as it could have gone either way. In golden score the open game continued and it was David Leiva, with a superb change of direction and a low sumi-gaeshi who scored for the second time to win the bronze.
Final (-50 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-50 kg)
Final Results (-50 kg)
