The complex choice for Shirine Boukli analysed

On Tuesday the French Judo Federation announced the selection for the Olympic Games. Larbi Benboudaoud put an end to the suspense very quickly. The tension was in the U70kg and U48kg category. U70kg will be decided at the Euros but Shirine Boukli was chosen to represent the French in Tokyo. Lesprit du Judo analysed the choice.

The choice of the U48kg was not certain but probable. A probability that has become a certainty, as Shirine Boukli has succeeded over the past few months in gradually establishing herself as the almost obvious choice. With her victory at the Grand Slam in Düsseldorf in February 2020, beating the Japanese double vice-world champion Funa Tonaki in the final. By the fact, also, that confinement had no hold on a meteoric trajectory started at the 2019 world junior championships (she had finished in silver) since she became European champion last November in Prague. Then finally won her second Grand Slam, this time beating the double world champion Daria Bilodid convincingly.

Decisive and significant milestones included a continental title, two Grand Slam victories and simply blasted away all previous results that the consistent Mélanie Clément showed since early 2018. Clement is 7th on the world ranking-list but never came higher than place 4.

A choice justified by Larbi Benboudaoud: "Today, we had to decide, on the basis of all the elements at our disposal. This additional year following the postponement of the Games to 2021 will have been beneficial to Shirine, who tumbled like a rocket. And we're not going to complain about it. It also shows that everything is not just a mathematical affair, and that we did not only stop at the ranking (on April 6, 2020, Mélanie Clément is in seventh place with 4,733 points, two ranks ahead of Shirine Boukli and its 4129 points.”