Today, France put all its male hopes in Walide Khyar, who seemed in particularly good shape. In the first round, he faced the first member of the refugee team entered in these Olympic Games. It was a tactical fight won without a problem by the Frenchman. The next round promised to be more perilous against the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist, the Georgian Vazha Margvelashvili, but faced with Khyar's over-motivation, Margvelashvili was never really able to take the upper hand and he let his guard down in front of the numerous yoko-tomoe-nage, ko-uchi-gari, ippon-seoi-nage attacks of his opponent who managed to score with a precise ko-uchi-gari 35 seconds from the end. The arena was on fire.
There was only one fight left for Walide Khyar to reach the semi-finals. While he had the lead with penalties (two against Gusman Kyrgyzbayev), he committed an irreparable error less than ten seconds from the gong. He had to set himself up for the repechage where he would meet the tough Bashkuu Yondonperenlei (MGL).
The latter, after a solid start to the tournament, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Willian Lima, who previously defeated Sardor Nurillaev (UZB) and Serdar Rahimov (TKM). The semi-final poster at the bottom of the draw was therefore Gusman Kyrgyzbayev (KAZ), highly motivated by his compatriot's gold medal yesterday, and Willian Lima (BRA).
At the top of the draw, two men particularly interested us. On the one hand, the world number one and number 1 seed, Denis Vieru (MDA), and on the other hand, the reigning Olympic champion, Hifumi Abe (JPN).
Despite the misfortune of his sister, Uta Abe at -52kg, Hifumi advanced in the tournament with metronomic precision. A first round win against Bence Pongracz (HUN), then in the next round against Nurali Emomali (TJK), opened the doors to the semi-final; nothing seemed to be able to make him tremble.
Discreet as he often is and advancing in the draw without a coach, Denis Vieru (MDA) was the author of one of the most beautiful throws of the day and of the tournament to date. His o-uchi-gaeshi on the Serbian Strahinja Buncic, was simply masterful.
Semi-finals
Denis Vieru (MDA) vs Hifumi Abe (JPN)
Gusman Kyrgyzbayev (KAZ) vs Willian Lima (BRA)
Repechage
Strahinja Buncic (SRB) vs Nurali Emomali (TJK)
Walide Khyar (FRA) vs Baskhuu Yondonperenlei (MGL)