Seychellois judoka Francis Labrosse, aiming for a second consecutive participation at the Olympic Games, has until now not been able to achieve his target.

Labrosse (left) finished seventh after abandoning the competition following a clash of heads

Granted "invitation" to participate in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Labrosse, bronze medallist in the Ninth Mauritius International Judo Championship last month, followed up this performance with a rather good placing in the second edition of the Casablanca International Tournament at the Complexe sportif Mohamed V.

Drawn straight into the quarterfinals of the -60-kg category, Labrosse, who is enhancing his judo skills at the Institut International des Sports et de l'Education Physique (l'Insep) in Paris, France, lost his first bout to Moroccan Rouane Radr.

In the repêchage round, Labrosse, Seychelles' best athlete at the 2001 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, missing out on a possible bronze medal in the -60-kg category, beat Senegalese Fofana but could not end his next fight against South African Makoba Bulclani.

The Seychellois judoka sustained a cut above an eye, needing seven stitches, after a clash of heads with his South African opponent who went on to finish fifth

His final placing was seventh out of 18 competitors in the -60-kg division for 15 points.

Labrosse's last chance to make sure of qualification for the Olympic Games is the African Championship in Tunisia in May.

It is to note that the tournament was being used as an Olympic Games qualifier and points were allocated to judokas according to their final placings.

Judokas from 21 countries – Seychelles, Tunisia, Algeria, Angola, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mauritius, Libya, Mali, Niger, Central Africa, Senegal, Guinea, Portugal, South Africa, France and Qatar – participated in the tournament.

The gold medal of the -60-kg category was won by Frenchman Jeremy Lebris who beat Portuguese Ho Carval in the final.

Moroccan Younes Ahamdi and Cameroonian Jean-Claude Cameroun, gold and silver medallists of the -60-kg division of the Ninth Mauritius International Judo Championship and who like Labrosse train at l'Insep, were the bronze medallists in Casablanca.

Twenty-one male judokas – three in each of the seven weight categories – who have accumulated the highest total of points, will represent Africa at the Olympic Games.

The continent will be represented by 14 female judokas in Athens.

So far, only two Seychellois – Laser sailor Allan Julie and boxer Kitson Julie – have qualified for the Athens Games.

G. G.