Saki Niizoe still world title candidate number one

The final remained uncertain for the duration of normal time. It was only in golden score that Saki Niizoe eventually scored waza-ari to steal the medal. Congratulations! Even if Japan was not present with a big delegation in Türkiye, Niizoe managed to win.

It is worth noting that France continues to have no real answer in this category. There is the former world champion, Marie-Eve Gahie, who continues to yo-yo between very good results and other unimpressive performances. Here in Antalya her defeat against the Chinese Yingying Feng is to be classified as a bad result for her. There is also Margaux Pinot, whose jagged results are more or less inversely proportional to those of her teammate and who in Türkiye climbed into the final block to possibly win bronze. In a year France will have to choose between these two excellent athletes. The choice promises to be difficult.

The first bronze medal was disputed by Margaux Pinot (FRA) and Maya Goshen (ISR), whose course was almost perfect in the morning. Despite her experience at that level, Margaux Pinot made the mistake of attacking against a straight arm, earning a disqualification for that. Bronze for Maya Goshen.

For the second bronze medal it was necessary to wait for the result of the match between Michaela Polleres (AUT) and the young up-and-coming Ai Tsunoda Roustant (ESP), who only lost in the semi-finals to the world champion Matic. However, Polleres had withdrawn injured and Tsunoda Roustant accepted the medal with humility.

Barbara Matic was in Türkiye because she has every intention of keeping her world crown. For the moment, she is putting all chances on her side. It is perhaps here in Antalya that things are decided.

Fifth in Paris at the beginning of February, then a finalist in Tashkent at the beginning of March, Barbara Matic is undeniably in the process of finding her best level, the very one that propelled her to the top of the world, in October 2022, during the last edition of the world championships. It is interesting to follow an athlete like Barbara, who we see increasing in power and precision as the next world championships approach. These will take place in Doha, Qatar, from 7th to 14th May and it is here in Antalya that many competitors have decided to fine-tune the last details, which could make the difference then.