Who will face RSC Montreuil in the semi-finals of the Judo Pro League Final Four on May 16? That's what's at stake in this latest quarter-final between Arts Martiaux Saint-Gratien and Juniville Marnaval Grand Est on Tuesday March 3. 

 

Pushing back defeat, again and again 

 

After two solid victories in October against Dojo Béglais (7-2) and US Orléans LJJ (5-3), Arts Martiaux Saint-Gratien exported themselves admirably, beating JC Pontault-Combault (6-3) and then Sainte-Geneviève Sports (5-4). This made them the third promoted team in the fourth season to go unbeaten in the knockout rounds, alongside RSC Montreuil and AC Boulogne-Billancourt, the first to qualify for the Final Four. Ouassini Bentot's young squad will have to get the better of Juniville Marnaval Grand Est in front of their home crowd if they are to continue their winning ways.  

 

 

The armada of the Grand Est 

 

The agreement between the Ardennes-based club and the Haute-Marne-based structure will see them reach their first quarter-final in the competition, after failing to make it out of the knockout rounds on their debut last year. To avoid a similar misadventure, the Grand Est outfit has been busy in the off-season, attracting two-time Olympic medallist Amandine Buchard (-52kg), German 2024 Olympic vice-champion Miriam Butkereit (-70kg), her compatriot Seija Ballhaus (-57kg), reigning European champion, as well as Cuban Andy Granda (+100kg) and Swiss Nils Stump (-73kg), respectively world champion in 2022 and 2023. For this decisive duel, four new athletes have also joined the adventure: Italy's Odette Giuffrida (-52kg), with two Olympic podiums to her name and third this weekend at the Uzbekistan Grand Slam, Belgium's Matthias Casse (-81kg), a four-time world finalist between 2019 and 2023, and Cuba's Maylin Del Toro Carvajal (-63kg), bronze medallist at the last three Pan-American championships, and Orlando Polanco (-66kg), just off the world podium last June. 

 

 

An undecided outcome 

 

While the line-ups of the two teams are not yet known, there will obviously be some intense battles to follow at the Parc des Sports Michel Hidalgo - SIVOM this Tuesday. Mathilde Chevalier (-52kg), for example, is undefeated after competing in the first four rounds, and is likely to test her mettle against Buchard, Giuffrida or Mélanie Legoux-Clément, while Julie Falgon (-63kg), European U23 runner-up last October and recent Herstal Open gold medallist, could cross swords with Del Toro Carvajal. A duel between Switzerland's Aurelien Bonferroni and Belgium's Casse in the -81kg class also promises to be a sparkling affair, as does that between Khamzat Saparbaev and Andy Granda in the +90kg class, or the probable clash in the +70kg class between former French champions Lyse Versmisse and Anne-Fatoumata Mbairo. More than ever, each of the ten encounters will be decisive for a safe exit from this undecided quarter-final.