“With his brother Mohammed, Nassar fought for my club, Crossing Schaerbeek, for seven or eight years. Already last year, he asked me to join his team, but I refused because it was too risked in view of the Olympics He called me back a few weeks ago and, this time, I accepted. I have never participated in the French Pro League, an interesting competition with rules which favor offensive judo. which I like. By coming to Auxerre, I especially wanted to return the favor to Nassar and his brother.”
However, Toma almost missed this premiere! “With Karmen, my wife, we are expecting our second child. It’s a matter of hours. But, during the night from Monday to Tuesday, we believed it was the moment and we went to the hospital. Ultimately, it was a false alarm. And I was able to take my train to Auxerre.”
For the second season of this national mixed team competition, the Burgundian club was opposed, this Tuesday evening, to Asnières, which it beat with a score of 6-3 with a victory, in + 90 kg, of… Toma Nikiforov . The Schaerbeekois defeated Hermann Djiguiba (27) by waza-ari. Next meeting: next Tuesday, against Nantes, before two other meetings in November.
guillement “If I continue, I don’t even know if it will be -100 or +100 kg.”
But that’s not all! Toma will also compete in Interclubs in Belgium and… Bulgaria. Accompanied by Alain De Greef, the president of Crossing and its godfather, he says he needs it.
“After the Olympics, I didn’t put on my kimono for three weeks. Then, I felt a lack of it and I resumed training during my stay in Bulgaria. I’m talking about judo because, physically, I didn’t I never stopped. To come back to my experience in Auxerre, there is a great atmosphere there. Every meeting is a show with music.”
From there to imagining his future on the international scene, there is a step that Toma has not yet taken. “I haven’t made any decisions. If I continue, I don’t even know if it will be -100 or +100 kg. I learned of the appointment of Dirk Van Tichelt as head coach. I think it’s a logical continuation, but also that he will have to surround himself well because, alone, it’s impossible to take care of everything. And then, he lacks experience as a coach, which is normal. But it’s positive.”
