Clarisse Agbegnenou condemns her early world exit

Clarisse Agbegnenou’s campaign in Baku ended in the quarter-finals, followed by a defeat in the repechage. The French judoka then delivered a severe assessment of her own display, saying she had performed far below the level she expected despite feeling physically well and free of pressure.

Her title hopes disappeared during golden score against Hungary’s Anna Kriza, who secured a decisive waza-ari. Agbegnenou had previously beaten Kriza in Lausanne. She was then defeated by Mongolia’s Enkhriileen Lkhagvatogoo in the repechage, ending her attempt to match Ryoko Tani’s seven world crowns.

The result came seven months after Agbegnenou gave birth to her second child. She had returned to competition with a bronze in Switzerland and began the Baku tournament with a comfortable victory over Slovenia’s Kaja Kajzer Zabkar, before a narrower success against Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard. Those performances had raised expectations, but the 2021 Olympic champion could not reproduce that level when the decisive bouts arrived.

Agbegnenou said she had no regrets about entering the championships, although she remained unsure whether she would compete in the mixed team event on Sunday. Her immediate reaction was disappointment at failing to convert the resources and confidence she felt she had brought to Azerbaijan.