Reached on Friday night in Shanghai, the French champion (-50 kg) shares her joy of finding her peak again with her 1^st final since January 2018 and especially since her injury. The 22nd of her career ! It will be on Sunday against her eternal rival and friend, Turkey’s Serap Ozcelik. Her reaction.

By Ludovic Mauchien / Photo: Kphotos

On Sunday, Alexandra Recchia will play her 22nd international final in individual ! To the other side, Serap Ozcelik, her 29th final ! And this lasts since the cadets. The Turkish has won 6 consecutive medals in 2019, including 4 golds (Paris, Dubai, Rabat, Istanbul) while the French just came back from injury.

For her 3rd resume competition, she dominated Japan’s Tahata (3-2), Bulgaria’s Svilenova (4-0), Ukraine’s Kryva (1-1), Spain’s Gomez (4-4) and Egypt’s Salama in ½ final (2-0).

How do you fell to be in a final again ?

(She laughs). It is a great, great pleasure. It feels good, it’s a relief. Finally, it is the reward of all the efforts I have made since my operation. This shows that I am on the right path.

You will fight Ozcelik. It could only be her...

Anyway, I am glad it’s her. It could be her or someone else but I'm really glad it's her. It's symbolic. We have a past in common. We have the same age. We get on very well, we are very good friends. I've always loved her karate and I think it's mutual. It's nice that we meet in the final.

Looking forward to Sunday?

Not especially, I want to enjoy being in the final and the fights I made today (read Friday) and to recover the maximum to be ready on Sunday. It will come on time, but tomorrow (Saturday), the break day will do me good.

Precisely, your program by Sunday?

Saturday morning, I will go at the gym to support the friends and perhaps, I will go for a little walk in Shanghai in the afternoon to breathe a little.