In this penultimate week of qualifiers, while the unbeaten AC Boulogne-Billancourt, FLAM 91 and Judo Nice Métropole will be looking to maintain their momentum and catch a glimpse of the top 4, JC Pontault-Combault, Dojo Nantais and JC Chilly-Mazarin Morangis will be fighting to stay in the Judo Pro League. Another championship, according to Jérémie Martin, technical director of the Essonne-based club, who travel to Loire-Atlantique on Tuesday. «Looking at the teams who have joined the competition this season, we knew that with our squad made up entirely of club fighters, it was just going to be a matter of time before we could compete and claim a place in the quarter-finals, as we did last year. We'd have had to pull off a minor feat, but it came down to nothing against Saint-Geneviève (5-5, loss on points, editor's note), with one or two absentees on the other days... That's how it is, the challenge now is not to go down, and that's going to come down to a good result against Nantes, knowing that our ten fights already won this season give us a slight advantage over the five other teams who, like us, are without a point.» 

 

 

A boon for youngsters 

With the exception of experienced thirty-somethings Richard Vergnes and Abderhamane Diao, the Chiroquois who managed to win on the first three days are more part of the new generation. Sarah Bothy (-52kg), a regular at the last World Junior Championships in October and victorious in both her starts, Marin Chabon (-66kg), fifth at the 2025 French Junior Championships, and Peter Jean (-73kg), already a double senior national medallist, are all only twenty years old! «This Judo Pro League experience is perfect for these youngsters, who aren't used to competing in front of hundreds of fans chanting their names, and who have the opportunity to measure themselves against athletes more seasoned than themselves. These encounters will serve them well in their careers, that's for sure!» Starting with this decisive clash against the Dojo Nantais, JC Chilly-Mazarin Morangis can look forward to a future in the Judo Pro League...