To be convinced, let's study her track record a little. Binta was European cadet champion in 2021, then in 2023 she climbed onto the European podium, this time among the juniors. Already in 2021, she made headlines by obtaining a world bronze medal in the juniors while a cadet, a performance that she repeated a year later in Guayaquil in Ecuador. The warning signs of good progress were there.
We also know how difficult the transition between juniors and seniors can be. Juniors are often more fiery, less tactical and less powerful. Suddenly things become a little complicated when you have to face experienced judoka who use all the tricks and wisdom to win.
It's been a few months since Binta appeared on the world circuit regularly. Since her 2nd world junior medal, she is undoubtedly one of the athletes who has come out the most, 14 times exactly, and let’s face it, there aren’t many results to sink your teeth into. At each competition though, she learned something and she worked to improve her performance, which is visible today.
When on 8th March she reached the final of the Upper Austria Grand Prix, this was a surprise, although there is no surprise theoretically in this result because work does finally pay off.
Today in Tbilisi, Binta Ndiaye was not far from making an impression again. The first rounds were impeccable in technical and tactical mastery. There was strength, precision and an incredible ability to find opportunities on the ground. Her current and future opponents should be aware of the danger. The first victim of the day was Frenchwoman Léonie Gonzalez, followed by Gultaj Mammadaliyeva (AZE), 15th in the world, and Annika Wurfel (GER).
In the quarter-finals, she tied with Seyun Jang. We can even say that she dominated the kumi-kata. While she conceded a first waza-ari, she came back to score. Her waza-ari was ultimately cancelled and unfortunately for her, she was not able to conclude with the immobilisation that she initiated at the end of the contest. Not much was missing.
Finally, in the repechage, she lost on penalties to Olympic champion Distria Krisniqi (KOS), Distria Krisniqi! Once again, she was on an equal footing with her elder, pushing her to her limits. Krasniqi finally won with experience but it was not easy.
Thus, Binta Ndiaye does not have to be ashamed of her 7th place, quite the contrary. She can be proud of the work completed and the development accomplished. She's not missing much, really not. Perhaps there is always room for a little more work, but take courage, the results are already there.