Teddy Riner n’avait plus combattu depuis les Jeux de Paris. Midi Libre – LF
Trop forts, les Parisiens ont tout arraché sur leur passage. Apparu lors du duel décisif face à Belgrade, Teddy Riner a signé un retour gagnant devant 2000 spectateurs au FDI Stadium.
Nearly five months after his last fight, in the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, he was expected like the white wolf. Initially forfeited and then announced present in Montpellier the day before for the next day, Teddy Riner was still expected this Saturday.
His coaches allowed themselves the luxury of doing without him in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for Paris Saint-Germain's entry into the competition in a one-sided Parisian derby against Asnières. With its armada, PSG could do without the greatest judoka in history. Margaux Pinot, Romane Dicko, Faïza Mokdar and company did the job.
In the semi-final against Judo Ukraine, the Parisians rotated their squad. Still no Teddy Riner on the horizon and no Pinot, Dicko and Mokdar either. That didn't stop PSG from being impressively quick to secure their ticket to the final of the continental competition.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000To win the four points of victory, the capital club needed about 10 minutes. Japanese Sanshiro Murao opened the scoring, French Coralie Hayme was expeditious, as was Uzbek judoka Alisher Yusupov. In conclusion, Priscilla Gneto, the Frenchwoman bronzed at the Paris Olympics, needed 50 seconds to beat her opponent. And the deal was in the bag.
In the stands, the 120 young people who had come with their PSG flags specially from Paris to support their team were delighted: their favorite team was going to fight to win the first mixed team Champions League.
The second semi-final pitted Judo Nice Métropole against the Serbian favourites from Etoile Rouge Belgrade. The judokas from the Côte d’Azur, French mixed team champions after their success in the Judo Pro League this year, almost created a second surprise after eliminating the Georgians from Golden Gori in the quarter-finals (4-3). But they gave in to the Serbs in the decisive fight (3-4).
Riner tired but in control
It was then time for the five-time Olympic gold medallist to finally make his appearance on the Montpellier tatami in front of a wild crowd. After a quick success by her teammate Romane Dicko for the opening score, Teddy Riner offered the second point to PSG after eight minutes of combat, four of which were golden score.
In physical difficulty but focused and calm, he won thanks to the three penalties conceded by his opponent, the Cuban Andy Granda, world champion + 100kg in 2022. Tired, Riner took a deep breath when the referee put an end to the fight.
In the process, Faïza Mokdar gave Paris a three-point lead before the Japanese Tatsuki Ishihara offered the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain (4-0).
“I'm happy, there was a great team and a good atmosphere, rejoiced the legend of world judo after the podium. Doing it in France is cool, in the continuity of the Olympic Games. 2024 was an extraordinary year. Winning with France and Paris Saint-Germain, these are boxes that I tick on my long list. I have two goals left: a European team championship title that I am missing from my list of achievements and Los Angeles 2028.”
Riner gives up on the Paris Grand Slam
After winning the European title with his favorite club, Teddy Riner announced that he was giving up on participating in the Paris Grand Slam in February. “I'm not ready, it's not the goal of the season. In two or three weeks, I'm heading to the operating room to take care of some injuries that I should have taken care of before."
Final ranking: 1. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), 2. Red Star Belgrade (SER), 3. Golden Gori (GEO), 3. Judo Nice Métropole (FRA).