France's Clarisse Agbégnénou does a rock-the-baby celebration after winning her first world title since giving birth to her first child last June ©Getty Images

France's Clarisse Agbégnénou has said that her world title here is a big boost in her mission to retain her Olympic crown in Paris and be an inspiration for judoka mothers.

Agbégnénou captured women’s under-63 kilogram gold at the World Judo Championships in Qatari capital Doha - just 11 months after giving birth to her first child.

It was her sixth individual world title - a feat achieved by only three other judoka - as she continues to underline her dominance in the division.

With her daughter Athena watching on, Agbégnénou overcame Slovenia's Andreja Leški to clinch a memorable gold with a little more than a year to go until she launches her defence of her Olympic title in her home country.

"It bodes well for Paris 2024," said Agbégnénou in a report by Agence France Presse.

"I'm so proud of myself and my daughter.




"Frankly, she's great, she let me sleep a little.

"I left her a little alone, I'm sorry, but I promised her that I was going to bring her this beautiful gold medal.

"There you go, it's done, and I'm going to put it around her neck."

Agbégnénou got her campaign up and running with victory over Serbia’s world number 30 Anja Obradović in the first round.

This was followed by wins over Cuba’s Maylin Del Toro Carvajal, Israel’s Paris Grand Slam winner Gili Sharir, Canada’s world number two Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard and Austria’s Lubjana Piovesana before beating Leški in the final.

"When I got here, I said to myself 'it's going to be a bit hard to get a title'," said the 30-year-old.

"I knew that I had the level to get a medal but the title, I still needed little things to settle.

"And finally everything went well"

After giving birth to Athena in June last year, Agbégnénou took maternity leave before returning to training at the end of the year.

France's Clarisse Agbégnénou, third from right, holds her daughter, Athena, after securing women's under-63kg gold in Doha ©IJF
France's Clarisse Agbégnénou, third from right, holds her daughter, Athena, after securing women's under-63kg gold in Doha ©IJF

Agbégnénou made her comeback at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam in February where she was defeated in the quarter-finals and then in the repechage before going on to win another world title in Doha.

"I want to say to all the mums and dads watching me 'you can do it'," said Agbégnénou.

"Mum power."

When asked what her plans were, Agbégnénou told AFP: "I need a little rest.

"My knee is still swelling a little so I will treat it.

"I will resume training.

"I'm going to celebrate my daughter's birthday very soon.

"It's going to happen very quickly and after that I'll get back to work.

"There will be a good year left for me to be able to compete again, regain confidence from the start of the matches and after, go for the gold at home."