Tokyo (AFP)

Clarisse Agbégnénou, flag bearer of the French delegation to the Tokyo Olympics, qualified for the final of the judo tournament on Tuesday in the -63 kg category and is therefore now assured of a gold or silver medal. , which will be the fourth for French judo and the sixth for the Blues.

To secure her ticket for the final, the French world No. 1 dominated by waza-ari the Canadian Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard.

In the final, Agbégnénou will face Slovenian Tina Trstenjak, who beat her in the final of the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Five-time world champion, five-time European champion, Agbégnénou has been waiting for five years and her disappointment in Rio to take her revenge and obtain the Olympic title which would crown her breathtaking record.

The fact that the final is played against Trstenjak, who also deprived her of the gold medal at the 2015 Worlds, gives a special flavor to the upcoming clash.

Before beating Beauchemin-Pinard, Agbégnénou (28) had advanced without a hitch in the table.

She started her tournament with an expeditious victory against Cape Verdean Sandrine Billiet, beaten by ippon in 19 seconds.

In the quarterfinals, the Frenchwoman had a slightly tougher opponent with the Dutch Juul Franssen, twice bronze medalist at the world championships and once at the European championships.

French judo has already won three medals since the start of these Games, bronze on Saturday for Luka Mkheidze in the -60 kg category and silver on Sunday and then on Monday for Amandine Buchard in -52 kg and Sarah-Léonie Cysique in -57 kg.

© 2021 AFP