JC Pontault-Combault / AM Saint-Gratien: 3-6 

 

With two diametrically opposed trajectories for their first steps in the competition - two defeats away from home for JC Pontault-Combault, two victories at home for AM Saint-Gratien - these two promoted teams met again at the beginning of the week in Seine-et-Marne, in a Boisramé gymnasium that was close to being sold out. A great atmosphere, but Ouassini Bentot's protégés were not distracted from their quest for invincibility. Anaïs Nebout-Gonsard (-70kg), vice champion of France juniors 2025, kicked off the match with an impeccable performance, and proved to have more impact in kumikata than Laura Haberstock, champion of France seniors in 2022, who received three penalties synonymous with defeat. 

 

Ruthless gratiennes 

 

Following on from this, Jason Okoye (-90kg), French junior champion in 2024, quickly unraveled his confrontation with Gwendal Bernard, whom he surprised with a kata-guruma on the edge, as did Lyse Versmisse (+70kg), who tackled Valentine Marchand on her back in a duel between former French champions. Thanks to Khamzat Saparbaev (+90kg) and Mathilde Chevalier (-52kg), who cracked Clémence Roger on penalties after the latter had initially countered her with waza-ari, the clean sweep continued until the break for the Valdoisians, who even secured victory in the sixth bout, William Cysique and Maxime Moundanga failing to separate in the -66kg category. 

 

Pontell recruits keep hopes alive

 

As luck would have it, the home team's three foreign reinforcements - Shannon Van de Meeberg (-57kg), Mina Libeer (-63kg) and Joshua De Lange (-81kg) - were, unfortunately for them, too late for a positive outcome on Tuesday. However, their three victories by ippon were a welcome relief for the Red and Black fans, as much as they helped to improve the JCPC's record, which may be winless after three days, but with eight bouts won could make all the difference to their chances of staying in the competition when the final totals come in two months' time. 

 

Sainte-Geneviève Sports / AM Asnières Judo 92 : 4-5 

 

 

There was no need to arrive late this Wednesday at the Gérard-Bailo Dojo in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois! Juliette Diollot (-70kg), honoured with the title of best judoka of the evening a week earlier against the Dojo Béglais, needed just a few seconds to throw her leg between those of Amoussatou Randrianjohany and score ippon on this sublime uchi-mata. Having just returned from the Zagreb Grand Prix, where he had failed to place, European vice-champion Maxime-Gaël Ngayap Hambou (-90kg) doubled Asnières' lead at the expense of Lucas Fouquet Pertusa. Behind them, it was by the slimmest of margins that Paris Grand Slam gold medallist Léa Fontaine (+70kg) opened the scoring for the Genovese side, as did Maxence Bordin (+90kg) who got the better of two-time French middleweight champion Cédric Olivar. The score remained 1-3 until the break, when a hikiwake between Madeleine Rougier and Morgane Féréol brought the first half to a close. 

 

Red and White ippon but no points 

 

This lead soon melted away with victories by ippon from Vincent Limare (-66kg) and Clarisse Carillon (-52kg), which enabled the Essonniens, who were already on the back foot last week with a 1-4 win over JC Chilly-Mazarin Morangis (5-5, victory on points), to take the lead for the first time in the match. The emotional elevator didn't stop there, however, as Asniéro's youngsters got back on track with Nathan Cadignan (-73kg), double national junior bronze medallist (2023 and 2025), and Doria Boursas (-63kg), bronze medallist at the last European junior championships, two "2005s" who won by a waza-ari to take all three points back to Hauts-de-Seine, despite Quentin Joubert's (-81kg) fine finish against Junior Dabaya. With two wins and one defeat, the two clubs now have their fate in their own hands when they meet for the fourth time in the qualifiers: at home for Sainte-Geneviève against Saint-Gratien (on 18/12) and in Haute-Marne for Asnières, who will face Juniville Marnaval Grand Est on January 21, 2026. 

 

 

RSC Montreuil / Normandie Judo : 7-2 

 

Like Saint-Gratien, RSC Montreuil didn't miss the opportunity to string together a third victorious encounter when they hosted Normandie Judo on Thursday. Previously trapped on their own territory by Essonniens FLAM 91 and Sainte-Geneviève Sports, the Normans conceded the first point of the evening (in +70kg) by forfeit, before the second narrowly escaped Florent Gaudy, a fireman in civilian life, who came close to pushing a breathless Emre Sanal to the foul as he tried as best he could to keep his waza-ari lead. There was no fight afterwards between Mireia Lapuertas Comas and Leia Fabiani in the -52kg category, the Spaniard with five Grand Slam bronze medals defeating her young rival in twelve seconds with a well-felt o-uchi-gari. The rematch of the last final in the -66kg category at the French Premier Division championships, between defending champion Kévin Azema and Romaric Bouda, was already shaping up to be a turning point. From the very first sequence, the tone was set by the former, who teaches at ASPTT Moulins, with a magnificent de-ashi-barai, lacking only a little upper-body control for ippon. Miraculously, Bouda and his five senior national podium finishes also let go of the horses to equalize, taking advantage of an insecure seoi-nage from his opponent. Better still, he scored the yuko of victory in the next phase of the bout, with a great inside reap. Malin Wilson and Jade Desbuis (-57kg) went back to back, and it was on this score of 3-1 that the twenty players returned to the locker room. 

 

Twenty victories crowned 

 

Far from enough for Nacer Dahli's charges, supported for the occasion by legend Audrey Tcheuméo, double Olympic medallist, world champion and five-time European champion. Lionel Bebey (-73kg) tore through Loris Lecardonnel without batting an eyelid before finishing him off with a uchi-mata/o-uchi-gari combination, while Aurore Cabanne (-63kg) and Italy's Irene Pedrotti (-70kg) relied on their juji-gatame to seal the match, despite the waza-ari victory of recent veteran world medallist Alexandre Féréol over French junior 2023 champion Mattéo Giordano. In the closing bout, Lucas Duchaussoy (-90kg) gave the scoreline a further boost by scoring on his harai/o-soto and then on o-uchi-gari against Lucas Gridaine. After six and eight victories respectively over Asnières and Venelles, seven more bouts make twenty-one, the highest total to date. This momentum must be maintained on December 18 against Auxerre Judo, to ensure a quarter-final at home early next year.