| Roumaica Benandro shines in gold at the African Cup in the -57 kg junior category. |
The Madagascans excelled in the junior and cadet categories at the African Judo Cup. The continental joust took place this weekend in Dakar, Senegal.
Four podiums. Three judokas from the Big Island excelled at the African Cup in Dakar, Senegal, this weekend. All three reached the African podium. Madagascar won a total of four medals, including one gold, two silver and one bronze.
Roumaica Benandro won the gold medal in the junior girls -57 kg category. She defeated Senegalese Soukaina Coly in the final on Friday. Roumaica had two fights in his category. She dismissed the Ivorian Amitana Bamba from the start to immediately validate the ticket for the final. Eight fighters were entered in this category, including four from the host country.
Two other Malagasy women reached the junior -52 kg podium. Idealisoa Ramorasata and expatriate Camille Andrianjafintsalama won the silver and bronze medals respectively. These two representatives of the country faced each other in the first round. The victory went to Idealisoa, who subsequently lost to Moroccan Amina Alaoui Cherifi. The latter won the coronation. In the repechage, Camille, for her part, beat Kenyan Sharon Ndunge and then snatched the bronze medal. Only four fighters competed in the category.
Upgraded
Expatriate Camille Andrianjafintsalama added one more silver medal among the cadets after her first bronze among the juniors. She lost on Saturday to Moroccan Amina Alaoui Cherifi, already champion among the cadets. In the semi-final, Camille defeated Senegalese Sabine Mendy. And in the group stage, she dismissed the Senegalese Rokhaya Ndao.
Eight entries competed in the category. Outclassed in this -52 kg category, Idealisoa was beaten from the start by the Senegalese Diodio Sonko, Saturday at the African Open in Dakar. She then bowed in the repechage to Moroccan Amina Alaoui Cherifi, cadet champion.
And in the -57 kg girls category, Roumaica was eliminated in the semi-finals by the Angolan Andreza Antonio, champion of the category. In the group stage, she eliminated the Ivorian Aminata Bamba in the second round after having beaten the Senegalese Morie Diatta by forfeit in the first round. The Malagasy flag bearers at the Africa Cup in Senegal therefore carried the national colors high. The next generation is already there among the girls.
Serge Rasanda
