Judo: DRC shines at the International Youth Judo Championship of La Francophonie

Kinshasa was the center of the judo of the Francophonie for two days from December 5 to 6 with the holding of the International Youth Championship of the Francophonie, flagship event of the francophone sports festival, organized by the International Confederation of Francophone Sports Unions (CIUSF).
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Reserved for athletes under 21 years old, this competition saw the participation of 11 countries namely Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Djibouti and DRC, host country.  


‎Organizing country, the DRC fielded the largest number of athletes in the competition (28) and the Leopards overtook this championship by winning 26 medals including 11 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze. Among the athletes who were eagerly awaited, there is Gédéon Kasota, says Zibiyu, who signed his return, two years after his suspension for doping during the IX Games of La Francophonie.
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Congo Brazzaville finished second in the medal standings, behind the DRC, with 9 medals including 1 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze and Senegal completed the podium with a gold medal won. 

An acclaimed organization
The DRC is increasingly asserting itself as a country that knows how to organize major events. After the successes known during the IX Games of La Francophonie, the African boxing championships and the senior women’s handball AFCON, the DRC has, once again, succeeded in organizing this International Judo Championship of La Francophonie.

From the logistics to the competition itself, no incident was reported, said the technical delegate of the International Judo Federation, present in Kinshasa. 

 “It was a very beautiful organization, I will give the grade of 8/10. In terms of organization and participation, the DRC put the package; 80 of the invited countries were present and the organizing committee of the Francophonie was also involved to try to organize something grandiose and beautiful.  There was no major incident, we had a very nice competition with a lot of animation. I think that all the countries returned satisfied. To see the feeling, to see the enthusiasm of the public, it’s something positive for judo,"

 he said.  
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A successful bet for the coordination of judo in the DRC led by Nicolas Lianza who thanked the participants and the authorities of the DRC for having made this festival of francophone sport and particularly the international championship of judo of the Francophonie a success.