Just as in the qualifying rounds, when they beat US Orléans LJJ (5-0) and Dojo Nantais (8-1) in the gymnasium Souriau, the legendary Boulogne-Billancourt club made short work of FLAM 91, who were without Olympic medallists Shirine Boukli and Luka Mkheidze, and French heavyweight champion Mathéo Akiana Mongo. 

 

The gymnasium Souriau was warmed up by the announcer, and a memorable evening was had by all for the first Judo Pro League quarter-final in the history of the ACBB, an ambitious newcomer to the competition. Flags, T-shirts, scarves, giant signs bearing the effigy of their champions, DJ set... everything had been planned to ensure a great show for the hundreds of supporters packed into the stands. Essonnienne Laura Duchaussoy's skilful stranglehold on Naomi Cabaret (-70kg) in the first duel had barely lowered the decibels when Yoann Benezra (-90kg), up against captain Ibrahim Keita, put his team back on track with a shoulder movement worth ippon after a good two minutes of golden score (back from the quarter-finals according to the competition formula). Better still, the Orange et Noir literally took off, with 2025 world junior champion - and fifth at the last Grand Slam in Paris - Célia Cancan beating Yvana Kamga Ngangoum with a back-and-forth move of which she is a master, before Ukrainian Yevheniy Balyevskyy (+90kg) pinned Francis Damier to the floor. Before the break, Léonie Gonzalez (-52kg) showed her ne-waza skills to subdue Fina Pamédie Katendi Nzuzi, who had been honored two days earlier at the Label Excellence in Saint-Gratien, with a juji-gatame.

 

A fiery atmosphere until the tenth fight 

 

At 4-1, the mission was already looking almost impossible for Louis Masy and Mathias Boucher's troops, all the more so as the Hauts-de-Seine outfit's major assets were looming large. Romain Valadier Picard, vice world champion 2025 in the -60kg class, was surprised by a sweep from Enzo Vantroyen - vice champion of France cadets 2024 - who unabashedly scored a yuko at the start of the bout, but came through with flying ippon-seoi-nage. He was then able to serenely hand over to the two Olympic bronze medallists in the -57kg category at the Paris 2024 Games, Japan's Haruka Funakubo and France's Sarah-Léonie Cysique (lined up in the -63kg category), who both won on the floor against reigning French champion Chloé Devictor and Arminda Nkayilu. Between demonstrations by the two international rivals, it was Eliot Prévé (-73kg) who ensured the show with a perfectly timed sweep against Léon Muteba. All that remained was for young Mehdi Salah (-81kg), third at the recent Label Super Excellence junior tournament in Aix-en-Provence, to conclude victoriously against the 2022 European cadet vice-champion, Kais Guettari, in a clash that smacked of the next generation. With a 9-1 scoreline, FLAM 91's Judo Pro League campaign came to an end in the Hauts-de-Seine, while ACBB Judo will be in the Final Four on May 16.  

 

To find out who their semi-final opponents will be, we'll have to wait until next week, when Arts Martiaux Saint Gratien, runners-up in the qualifying rounds and also promoted to the event, take on Juniville-Marnaval Grand Est on March 3.