The French offered two additional medals to the French delegation on Monday at the Doha Worlds.
Second and third medals for the French contingent in Doha. Amandine Buchard won her fight for bronze in -52 kg, Monday, May 8, at the Doha Worlds. She dominated the Hungarian Reka Pupp, 3rd in the world, to get the fourth world medal of her career. Less than an hour later, Walide Khyar won the first charm of his career in a world championship, after five appearances.
After a tight fight, Amandine Buchard ended up finding the fault, a few seconds from the end of the countdown, on a very beautiful waza-ari. Moved by her victory, after the disappointment of the elimination in the quarter-finals earlier in the day against Japanese Olympic champion Uta Abe, she let out a few tears on the tatami.
Fourth bronze medal
“It was difficult for me to refocus after my quarter, these are always games that require a lot of energy, physically and psychologically to stay lucid and do the job”, she reacted to the microphone of The chain The team. Winner of her repechage against the South Korean Seyun Jang but not satisfied, the Frenchwoman remobilized to win the medal. “I found the resources to go get the bronze”, she congratulated herself.
Already a silver medalist in the category at the Tokyo Olympics, the native of Noisy-le-Sec won her fourth world charm in Qatar, all in bronze, after 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Also engaged in the fight for bronze, in -66 kg, Walide Khyar won against South Korean An Baul. He took the advantage at the start of the fight on a waza-ari before managing his opponent’s attacks, and exploding with joy at the end of the clock.
Eliminated in the semi-finals by Hifumi Abe, Olympic champion in Tokyo, the 27-year-old Frenchman savored the fact of having gone for his first world medal: “I worked a lot, I think I deserve it”, he said at the microphone of The chain l’Equipe. “I did not manage to make the medal in -60 kg, it was out of the question that I return without the medal!”
