Teddy Riner is here again!
Seven months before the Tokyo Games, the French won the Doha Masters (Qatar) on Wednesday, beating Inal Tasoev in the over 100 kg final after three penalties imposed on the Russian.
What feed high hopes for the one who, at 31, is determined to go for a third Olympic title.
Emaciated face, sharp body (since the 1st confinement in March, the double Olympic champion has lost 26 kg), the Teddy Riner version 2021, much more mobile and able again to trigger attacks, has nothing to do with the judoka who had his feet in the carpet at the Paris tournament in February 2020. Beaten in the 3rd round by the Japanese Kokoro Kageura, after 154 straight wins, the Frenchman then appeared annoyed, tired, out of shape and had worried many experts in the run-up to the Tokyo Games.
The postponement of the competition to the summer of 2021 was undoubtedly good news for the multiple world champion and above all heralded the time for recovery.
A return to form
In Doha, Teddy Riner, who was surprised during the French team championships in October, hardly trembled, even if the Dutchman Roy Meyer gave him a hard time in the first round.
More explosive than in recent months, the French then defeated Georgian Gela Zaalishvili and then reigning European champion, Russian Tamerlan Bashaev.
Solid against the Ukrainian Khammo in the semi-final, he scored a fifth success of the day by defeating the young Russian Inal Tasoev in the final.
The day was also marked by the victories of Madeleine Malonga (-78 kg) and Romane Dicko (+78 kg), after the success of Clarisse Agbegnenou (-70 kg) on Tuesday and Amandine Buchard (less than 52 kg) on Monday .