42nd African Senior Judo Championship |22 May 2021

Nantenaina Finesse entered in -90kg weight category

Nantenaina Finesse, Seychelles’ sole representative at the 42nd African Senior Judo Championship, was expected in action last night at the Dakar Arena in Diamniadio.

Competing in the -90kg category, Finesse was to fight Mintsa Diarra Adam Dalex of Gabon in group C last night. A win will see him come face to face with South African Thomas-Laszlo Breytenbach who has already moved to the following round through a bye. To reach the final of this weight category which comprises 20 fighters, Finesse has to collect four wins.

The 20 judokas have been divided into four groups ‒ A (4 fighters), B (5 fighters), C (6 fighters), and D (5 fighters). The competition started on Thursday and will end tomorrow.

A total of 210 judokas from around 40 African countries are taking in the championship as they aim to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan from July 23 to August 8. The Games were to take place last year but were postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and there are ongoing calls for the Games to be postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic.

Finesse is being accompanied by former judoka and coach Francis Labrosse.

A second judoka, former Sportsman of the Year Dominic Dugasse, could not make the trip to Dakar for health reasons.

Gerard Govinden