After RSC Montreuil, AC Boulogne-Billancourt and Arts Martiaux de Saint-Gratien, the Final Four of this fourth Judo Pro League season is still one club short. The verdict will be in on Tuesday March 10 on the Côte d'Azur, in the final quarter between the fourth and fifth qualifying teams. 

 

A final four of promoted teams or a quadruple for Nice? 

With two battles to spare, at the very end of the Stade Bordelais/AC Boulogne-Billancourt duel - resulting in the Girondins' only defeat in early December (3-5) - and FLAM 91/Judo Nice Métropole - giving the Azuréens a hard-fought 3-2 victory in early January, this confrontation could only have taken place on May 16 during the Final Four. For this clash between the two best provincial clubs of the season will be worth the detour to close out these quarter-finals. Will there be a complete renewal with a fourth promoted team - Stade Bordelais - still in the running for the title this spring? Or, on the contrary, will Les Niçois secure a fourth consecutive podium finish? Whatever happens, it's going to be a new one! 

 

The force of habit in Nice 

Although victories were sometimes slow in coming, notably against quarter-finalists Juniville-Marnaval Grand Est (4-3) and FLAM 91 (3-2) - Nice is the only team to have faced two members of the top 8 in the knockout rounds - Mohamed Otmane's troops stayed the course over the winter. And as has always been the case since the competition's inception in 2022, they head into this first knockout match of the season with a number of home-grown fighters determined to make the most of their chances. Léa Métrot (-52kg), Rania Drid (-63kg), Florine Soula (-70kg), Driss Masson Jbilou (-66kg), Tizie Gnamien and Irakli Beroshvili (-90kg), among the various regulars from the start of the year, have already been through the knockout stage, and know what it takes to continue the adventure. Alongside them, Ophélie Vellozzi (-57kg) and Grace-Esther Mienandi Lahou, each with three wins and a draw to their name, will also be strong contenders in Nice. 

 

 

Bordeaux ready for the light 

Almost without making a fuss, Stade Bordelais also steered its ship perfectly for its first appearance in the competition. Two emphatic victories away from home, against JC Chilly-Mazarin Morangis (6-2) and Auxerre Judo (6-3), put them on the right track from the outset, while the setback against the Boulonnais was quickly swept aside by a controlled performance against Normandie Judo (7-1) at the end of January. On paper, the Grenats can field a particularly dangerous team, capable of turning any situation around. Between the four Olympians in the squad - Great Britain's Lucy Renshall (-63kg), Dominican Robert Florentino (-90kg), Bulgarians Mark Hristov (-73kg) and Ivaylo Ivanov (-90kg) - and Spain's Ayumi Leiva Sanchez (-52kg), third this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, as well as local athletes on top form at the start of the year - Lola Berthet (-57kg) and Calypso Debuire (+70kg), winners of the Label Excellence in Saint-Gratien, Desir Zoba Casi (-73kg) in gold at the Super Excellence juniors in Aix-en-Provence, the ten competitors will certainly not be lacking in value.