The tournament, held on Sept 15 in Hong Kong, saw Team Dojo enter two teams for competition – one in the 9-10 year old age group and the other in the 12-15 division.
Teams are typically five members strong although, due to a variety of factors out of their control, the younger team only had three competitors – Sagit, Kiichi and Sota.
However, they managed to dig deep and deliver a series of exceptional performances to advance to the semi-final stage where they ultimately finished third out of 21 teams.
“To only field three players but finish third overall out of 21 teams and secure a bronze medal is an outstanding achievement and testimony to an incredible team effort,” Dojo lead instructor Alexis Plantard told The Phuket News.
“Their flawless victories in the round of 16, last 8 and quarter-finals were superb, a real testament to their skill and determination. Me and everyone at the Dojo are incredibly proud, as they should be,” he added.
TOUGH OPPOSITION
The older team of David, Gabin, Timur and Tomo performed similarly well despite being a member short to also advance to the semi-final stage where they faced extremely tough opposition, ultimately finishing 3rd out of 14 teams.
“David made a tactical mistake, while Gabin struggled somewhat to exert sufficient aggression against a much larger opponent who effectively leveraged his extra weight and years of experience to win,” Alexis explained.
“Timur executed a brilliant Ura Nage, which should have secured the win by ippon, but the referee, influenced by the central judge, revoked the point. This led to a shift in momentum and Timur, emotionally affected, ultimately lost the match.
“However, this happens and learning from adversity is equally, if not more, important than when experiencing success. The team will learn and become ever stronger for future competitions.
“It was a remarkable achievement by all the team, especially considering only 7 out of our 10 athletes were able to compete. I am incredibly proud of their perseverance and talent,” he added.
Next up for Team Dojo is the Laos International Championships on the weekend of Oct 26-27 where 9 athletes will be competing.
FIGHTING ALONE
On Sept 22 Alexis was fighting alone at the Thailand International Judo Open, which saw 20 athletes from separate 20 nations taking part in divisional competition.
Representing his home country France and competing in the under-90-kilogramme division, Alexis excelled to win the title outright.
He defeated Chutiphon Ainaunchot of Thailand courtesy of a ground arm lock in the quarter-final, before some technical Newaza ground work saw him overcome Kangmin Kim of South Korea in the semi-final.
The final showdown saw Alexis face off against Milan Michael Anjalo from Sri Lanka who he defeated by locking him flat on his back on the ground for 10 seconds to score a second Waza Ari and finish the match.
“It was an amazing day and I am very proud,” Alexis said afterwards. “I especially like the fact that my victory meant the entire crowd in the stadium had to stand when the French national anthem was played during the medal ceremony!”
In addition to the tournament in Laos next month, upcoming team events include the Indonesia International Judo Open on Nov 23-24 and the French National Judo Under-14 competition on Jan 19, 2025. Alexis will also be competing at the World Judo Championships in Las Vegas, USA on Nov 6.
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