The French boxers missed out on their ordeal in Japan, five years after the triumph of Rio (six medals).
The former DTN of the discipline, in office throughout the Olympiad, explains this unforeseen fiasco.
From our special correspondent,
Six medals in Rio, none in Tokyo.
The return to earth is severe for French boxing, which completely missed out on the Japanese meeting.
Of course, Mourad Aliev was unfairly disqualified Sunday in the quarterfinals, deprived of a medal four seconds from the end of his fight.
Of course, the arbitration did not favor the French representatives on the whole, but one should not have a short memory: in Brazil, nobody was indignant to see some very balanced rounds granted to the
solid
team
.
Patrick Wincke, DTN in post during the Olympiad, explains the reasons for this indisputable failure.
How to explain the fiasco of French boxing five years after the triumph of Rio?
So we knew we wouldn't do as well as five years ago from the start, it was an exceptional record.
But in addition was added a not very serene Olympiad, during which we had to change strategy three times because of the pandemic.
Do the athletes involved have anything to be ashamed of?
Let's say it started with Samuel [Kistohurry].
And an Olympiad that started badly… He was wrong to lose the first round, he then won the following ones, the American did nothing, but a judge gave him the round anyway.
Maeva [Hammadouche], we knew she was a difficult opponent.
Bilal [Bennama] was active, but he lacked precision in his shots.
Its elimination is not scandalous.
Mourad [Aliev], these are things that I do not understand, with the means of video.
And Sofiane [Oumiha] took a knockout.
;
we were dumbfounded at the time, but protocol showed he had not recovered.
But all five had the potential to go to the final.
Why weren't we able to qualify more than five?
We had to organize a world qualifying tournament in Paris a month before the Olympics, with the idea that if things went badly at the European tournament, we would have a second chance by reintegrating certain athletes.
But the world TQO was canceled, and we could not change the athletes registered a year before for the European tournament.
We still made four men's finals that day, that's why the general manager announced that they could all be medalists.
What would this world tournament have changed?
We knew that most of the medalists in Rio had made a professional choice and would not return to the Games.
But the strategy at the start was that some boxers who had won medals in Rio would come back in case of unpleasant surprises during the European tournament.
It could not be done due to this cancellation of the World TQO.
Ideally, who would you have liked to escort?
Mathieu Bauderlique, bronze in Brazil, and at the limit Souleymane Cissokho, if the Games had not been postponed for a year.
Above all, we could have brought competition to the end, and this would perhaps have allowed some young boxers to emerge faster.
Can we redress the bar by 2024?
For a year, we have established two staffs, including one who works exclusively in Paris.
We have a generation which arrives at the girls, with good results with the Euros of -22 years.
This is where the heavy lifting is.
Among boys, the generation is already there.
Bilal will stay, Mourad can do the Olympics again… And then there are the elders who shout loudly that they are going to come back because it is Paris.
This emulation with the Olympic Games at home in prospect promises a lot.
Being a host country is important, the qualification process will be easier.
Overall, we are sure to be able to be present in each category.
14 athletes instead of five are not the same thing.
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