Tokyo (AFP)
French judoka Madeleine Malonga, beaten in the final by Japanese Shori Hamada, won the silver medal in the -78 kg category on Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics, thus bringing the French team its 10th medal.
This defeat in the final is a small disappointment for Malonga, world No. 1 in her category and world champion in 2019. She was dominated over ippon by immobilization by Hamada, her main rival, whom she had beaten in the final of the 2019 Worlds. .
No.2 in the world rankings, the Japanese therefore adds an Olympic title to her world title in 2018.
For Malonga, the year 2021 will have been frustrating with two silver medals at the Worlds and then at the Olympics, two events where she was aiming for gold.
Before her duel against Hamada, Malonga had dominated in the semifinals the South Korean Hyunji Yoon, disqualified for having received three penalties, two for leaving the mat and one for catching the pants.
The Frenchwoman started her tournament with a controlled fight against the Austrian Bernadette Graf, beaten by ippon after just over a minute.
Her quarter-final, however, was complicated against Cuban Kaliema Antomarchi, whom she had previously beaten three times in three fights.
Malonga quickly scored a waza-ari, but the Cuban equalized and pushed her to a tense overtime.
The 2019 world champion finally got out and won by ippon after just over a minute in extra time.
The Malonga medal is the fifth for French judo, after the gold of Clarisse Agbégnénou, the silver of Sarah-Léonie Cysique and Amandine Buchard and the bronze of Luka Mkheidze.
© 2021 AFP