The Judo Pro League arrives this Tuesday, November 19, in Saint-Dizier, at the Ortiz gymnasium. The opportunity to show beautiful judo to the Haut-Marne public who rarely have the opportunity.
The Judo Pro League, a mixed competition organized by the French Federation, takes place this Tuesday, November 19, at 7 p.m., at the Ortiz gymnasium. The meeting will pit Juniville Marnaval Grand Est, which brings together good local judokas, and Judo Nice Métropole, the leader, out of the 14 teams in this competition created in 2022.
The alliance between the Ardennes training of Juniville and Marnaval, which will present its protégé, Mélanie Legoux-Clément, experienced two defeats (against Judo des Hauts de France, 4-6, and SGS judo, 3-6), for a first success against FLAM 91 of Shirine Boukli (7-3), in Rethel, last week. “It’s the first professional league in France. It’s a mixed competition, a formula that meets the specifications of international competitions, the Euro, the Worlds and the Olympic Games,” explains Clément Legoux, co-coach of the team with Adrien Guilloux, high-level coach from Juniville. “The goal is to professionalize the discipline and bring a little bit of money to judokas. We have a club agreement with Juniville and other structures in the Grand Est to compete in particular with the Parisian teams. So far, we have done well, with a recent victory against FLAM 91, winner of the competition two years ago. »
Mélanie Legoux-Clément featured
From 7 p.m., ten fights will take place, five for girls and as many for boys. “The idea is to do a “show”, without “golden score”, lasting one hour, with simplified rules. It’s a more relaxed atmosphere than other championships,” continues Clément Legoux, satisfied to be able to host, thanks to the local authorities (City of Saint-Dizier, the Departmental Council and the Grand Est Region), this event.
For Marnaval, only Mélanie Legoux-Clément, triple winner at the French championships, most recently in 2023, and medalist in various international competitions, notably at the Euro, will be on the tatamis on Tuesday. “The other day, Mélanie lost in penalties against Shirine Boukli, in -52 kilos, with two kg difference. It was a good fight, even if there was a big difference in weight. »
The Juniville and Marnaval clubs therefore united. “We talked about it at a French championship. They have good boys, we have girls, with judokas from the Grand Est,” continues Clément Legoux. Entry to the competition is free, you just need to register in advance via a website*. “It mobilizes the club’s volunteers, even if it’s a little complicated at the moment. The president, Eugene Perez, resigned, and his vice president took over. But we are going to start off on the right foot,” concludes Clément Legoux, who is hoping for a great evening in a city that loves judo and which has trained many champions in the past, notably Axel Clerget, sponsor of the competition. Enough to spend a great evening of judo and try for the Grand Est structure to qualify for the main draw!
Previously, the judokas will go to a school on Tuesday afternoon.
Nicolas Chapon
* https://www.billetweb.fr/jpl-j4-juniville-marnaval-vs-judo-nice-metropole
The Juniville Marnaval Grand Est team
Men
-66 kg : Jules Cymbert (Juniville), -73 : Tanguy Gérard (Juniville); -81 : Lou Lherbier (Juniville) ; -90 : Téo Lherbier (Juniville) ; +90 : Andy Granda (Cuba), 2022 world champion.
Women
-52: Mélanie Legoux-Clement (Marnaval) ; -57: Ylona Wattecant (Chateau Gontier); -63: Mathilde Briant (Marnaval) and Loriane Bruhl (Alsace Nord Judo); -70: Anaïs Viaud (Marnaval) and Inès Prévot (Juniville); +70: Marine Erb (Ban Saint Martin) and Ninon Lassalle (Alsace Nord Judo).
