Judo - Dominique Dugasse’s destiny in own hands |30 April 2020

Dominique Dugasse

Judoka Dominique Dugasse has his destiny in his own hands in his quest to make it to Tokyo 2020 as he attempts qualification for the Summer Olympic Games for the third time in a row.

Dugasse managed to gain qualification for the London 2012 Olympic Games where he was the flag bearer and he feels it was a baptism of fire. He was pleased with his showing despite bowing out at the first hurdle as he explained to Sports NATION.

Olympic debut

“My introduction to the Olympics was quite interesting in London as I managed to qualify directly through my accumulated points and I met a New Zealander in my debut where I gave the best of myself but lost on points. I learnt afterwards that my opponent was the world champion but my team had not told me about it before the bout as they thought it was going to intimidate me, but overall I think I did quite well,” explained Dugasse.

However, Dugasse did not feel he had a good showing at the Rio 2016 Games in Brazil where he again went out at the first attempt against an Egyptian who was the African champion.

“In hindsight I don’t think it was my best performance though I tried to resist but afterwards I was not satisfied with my performance as I knew I was capable of doing much better,” the Praslinois related to Sports NATION.

Next challenge

Dugasse now is geared towards gaining qualification for the Tokyo 2020 which has been postponed and he feels he is ready for the challenge but his target has been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic which has caused all sporting activities to be cancelled and he thinks that the delay might work in his favour.

“I was due to compete in the African Championships in Morocco from April 16-19 and I was in good form and my endurance was at the required level and therefore I was confident that I would have achieved my target of at least making it onto the podium or even if I had finished in fifth position, I know I would have accumulated enough points to secure a berth at the Olympics. I had a good result last year in this competition in South Africa where I won a bronze medal,” Dugasse claimed.

As a result of the year extension of the Olympic Games, Dugasse said that he now has a series of competitions which are sanctioned by the International Judo Federation (IJF) to attempt qualification though the dates are yet to be rescheduled but he hopes this will soon be made public.

“I started this year with a high level competition in February at the Paris Grand Prix but I went down in the first round though it was a good experience. After the competition I missed a good opportunity to train in France with top class performers because my federation could not afford to pay for me to take part in this one-month training camp,” reflected Dugasse who said that he is used to such setbacks throughout his career.

Lack of support

Dugasse is adamant that as a Praslinois he has been marginalised by the federation in the past since he burst onto the local scene in the early 2000 at the tender age of 15 and showed his potential.

“I began to take this sport very seriously in 2003 but as I came from Praslin, it was not easy as everything was run by the people from Mahé and I am of the view that during the years 2008 and 2009, I was being victimised as I did not attend any international competitions though I was always the best in my category. But despite these difficulties I have always persevered to overcome these obstacles though upon reflection, I feel I might have achieved better results although I was a late developer in the sport. I even think I could have won a medal at world level if I had received the necessary backing and encouragement,” Dugasse told Sports NATION.

In fact Dugasse said that there has always been a division between athletes from these two main islands – Praslin and Mahé – stemming back over 15 years which has forced some athletes to quit the sport and he doesn’t see it improving soon but he hopes one day there could be a united front for judokas.

Successful career

Nonetheless, Dugasse said that he has had a quite successful career and though he is past his thirties, he still harbours hope of more glory in the coming years.

“The highlight of my career was a gold medal in the African Open championship in 2013 in Mauritius which was surely a great result which helped me to win the Sportsman of the Year title after having finished in the runner-up position in 2012. I have always featured in the top-10 in the Sports Awards of the Year crowning and last year I was placed third overall with my bronze medal won at the African Championships,” Dugasse revealed though he was disappointed with his showing at the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games in 2019 in Mauritius where a calf injury marred his performance and he wasn’t in medal contention.

Indian Ocean Islands Games 2023

Dugasse is looking forward to the next Indian Ocean Islands Games in the Maldives in 2023 where he wants to reach the ultimate goal of bringing back a gold medal which would be a first for Seychelles in this sport at these games.

The soft-spoken Praslinois also feels the Indian Ocean Islands Games are becoming a very high level competition which is even more competitive than the African Championships.

“I want to win a gold medal at the Indian Ocean Islands Games which is what I have been striving for throughout my career and I think I will still be good enough to attempt Olympic qualification for the 2024 Games though my biggest dream is to win a medal at a world event,” expressed the athlete who is on the high level sports programme.

But for the time being, Dugasse will begin to get back into the right shape as he resumes training next week and says that he has worked out a plan to more or less guarantee him participation at the upcoming Olympic Games and for further success in the future.

“I will compete at the African Championships in the -100kg category but if I fail to achieve Olympic qualification, I will bring up my weight to compete in the +100kg category where I think I have an even better chance of gaining qualification as at the moment, I have to work hard to make the weight category. In the coming years, I will stick to the higher weight category,” the 32-year-old Dugasse stated to Sports NATION.

R. J-L.