Our special correspondent at the Accor Arena
Teddy, how do you feel after this new title, your 8th, at the Paris Grand Slam?
Teddy Riner:
It's a great way to start the year.
I had great feelings.
I wanted to come here even though I joined late.
It was important for me to come to this tournament in Paris, it gave me a very good review because it will be like that on D-day during the Games.
The public supported me well.
Now we have to stay with our feet firmly on the ground and take stock of the situation.
I'm missing things.
What I did today is good, I'm not going to say otherwise, but there are six months left to continue working.
But there, I was able to situate myself in the international context.
Did you need a reminder here, with a view to Paris 2024?
Yes, it was important.
That's why I wanted to play this tournament when there were many others possible.
I was able to work on my judo, my tactics against the opponents I faced today.
Afterwards, I don't lose sight of the fact that this tournament was preparation, that it is not the main objective.
I would have rather wallowed here than on the big day.
In the past, you have often had difficulty facing smaller, left-handed judokas, exactly like the South Korean Kim Minjong...
In fact it is not a question of right-handedness or left-handedness, but a question of finding fighters who do battle.
On this final, it was very closed, very complicated but I finally found the solution.
You must always believe in yourself, in your judo, in what I put in place.
We saw you attack a lot today, especially during the semi-final won against Alisher Yusupov...
Yes, I worked, and today reflects a bit of everything I put in place, especially in the standing-ground connection.
I would have liked to add a little more but it's already good.
I don't want to put excessive pressure on myself, I want to do things calmly.
What did you think of the competition?
It's there, you saw it.
It has never been easy, and even less so now.
We have to pull out all the stops to progress and prepare Paris well.
A word about your physical condition...
Form is good.
I'm not 100% yet but as I said, I still have six months to work on everything, the physique, the technique and of course the judo.
What will your program be from now on?
Lots of training and normally a next competition in March in Antalya (from the 29th to the 31st).
It won't be in Baku because it's too far, and Turkey is more pleasant (smile).