Thanks to the successes of Joseph Terhec, Sarah-Léonie Cysique, Joan-Benjamin Gaba and Marie-Eve Gahié against Romania, the Blues qualified without trembling for the semi-finals of the team event of the Doha Worlds.
The France team was determined not to waste time! After starting their day with a success after five fights against Lithuania, the Blues were quick to validate their ticket for the semi-finals of the team event which concludes the 2023 Worlds organized in Doha. To start the meeting, Joseph Terhec faced Alex Cret. While the penalties marked a hooked start to the fight, it was after just under three minutes that the Habs found the fault. A late ippon which gave the “the” of the performance of the France team.
After seeing Priscilla Gneto start the day, Sarah-Léonie Cysique took over when challenging Alexandra Pop and spent only 21 seconds on the tatami. Indeed, the Habs knew how to perfectly unbalance their opponent to put their back on the ground and bring a second point to the French team.
Marie-Ève Gahié (-70kg) wins the 4th point and qualifies France for the last four! 😍🇫🇷
🇫🇷 4️⃣-0️⃣ 🇷🇴
🎥 IJF#JudoWorlds #GoLesBleus #FierdEtreJudoka pic.twitter.com/bmD6tgeFeX
— France Judo (@francejudo) May 14, 2023
Gaba with forceps, Gahié assured
After such a short fight, the opposition between Joan-Benjamin Gaba and Alexandru Raicu was not of the same order. A rematch of the Under 73kg first round earlier in the week that kept the Doha crowd in suspense. After four intense minutes during which neither the French nor the Romanian made a mistake, the “Golden Score” came to decide between the two judokas. Quickly, Alexandru Raicu appeared in difficulty on the physical level. After three minutes of extra time, the Romanian picked up two penalties within seconds. The third came as the extra four minutes of combat approached.
This success of Joan-Benjamin Gaba offered the opportunity to conclude Marie-Eve Gahié. Opposed to Serafima Moscalu, the latter did not make the suspense last more than three minutes. Thanks to two successful movements putting the Romanian on the ground, the Habs scored the two waza-ari giving the Blues a place in the last four. Germany or Morocco will be on their way to the semi-finals.
