25-year-old French judo practitioner Shirine Boukli made her Olympic debut in Tokyo. Despite showing promise on the world and European stages, the judoka’s debut went terribly. In Tokyo, the French national’s campaign ended no sooner than it began against Serbia’s Milica Nikolic. However, since her loss, the athlete has built up an impressive resume, and her hard work paid off as she qualified for the 48 kg Olympics Judo quarter-finals on home soil.

“Completely Focused! Shirine BOUKLI defeats Tugce BEDER of Türkiye to advance to the Round of 16 in 48kg,” the European Judo Union posted on their official X handle. The 25-year-old cleared the first hurdle toward Olympic glory, clearing the Round of 32 in a match that lasted 03:24 minutes. The judoka was able to carry a winning momentum into the Olympics.

Boukli has strung together an impressive series of victories leading up to the Olympics, losing on one of her previous 10 matches. Even more impressive is the fact that Tugce Beder came into the praise Olympics as a top-5 contender in the women’s 48kg category. The judoka from Turkey finished in fight place at Worlds and Europe this year, so the match-up wasn’t a walk in the park for the French athlete.

Shirine Boukli herself took to social media after clearing the first hurdle at her second Olympics. “Round of 16 to follow,” wrote the 25-year-old on her Instagram story minutes after her round of 32 victory. After defeating Beder, the Olympian was set to face Tunisian Oumaima Bedioui. As of the time of writing, the French judoka has also defeated her Tunisian opponent. Now a quarter-finalist, Boukli has reached a new high in her judo career. However, her success so far is the result of years of dedication.

Shirine Boukli’s journey to Paris 2024

Despite a disastrous debut, the competitive judoka persevered and over the next three years has established herself a force to be reckoned with at 48 kg. Boukli won the European Championships in 2022 and 2023. She also put on an impressive display at the 2023 World Championships in Doha, earning a silver medal for troubles. However, the next step in her Paris Olympics journey will be her toughest.

Shirine Boukli will face her biggest challenge yet in the form of Natsumi Tsunoda in the quarterfinals. Tsunoda won the Olympic gold in the 48 kg weight class in her home country in 2021. However, Tokyo 2020 was only the beginning of their rivalry as the Japanese judoka was the one to defeat her French counterpart in Doha last year.

So will tell if the French athlete’s road to redemption meets a dead end, or continues forward? Will Boukli’s home advantage help her defeat her Japanese rival? Only time will tell.