Teddy Riner qualified to the Budapest Grand Slam final Sunday. This is his first international competition one year after the Tokyo Olympics.
Under the support of his family, Riner defeated the Georgian Gela Zalishvili (8th in the world), in the semi-final. After 1'24" combat, he won with determination. It could have been more rapid because the central referee had awarded ippon to French after 33 seconds' of combat before being disavowed and disqualified by the table judges.
The Guadeloupean beat the Azerbaijani Ushangi Kokouri in round one. He is 9th in the world rankings, and vice-world champion for 2018. After 2'50'' combat, he won without having to attack his opponent.
He was exempted in the first round against Joao Cesarino of Brazil, who is 146th in world rankings. Riner hadn't appeared on the international stage since last summer's Tokyo Olympics. Riner left Japan with an individual bronze and a team title. In two years, he hopes to win a third individual Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics.