Montreal, December 2, 2016 – Canadian judokas Jessica Klimkait and Ecaterina Guica did not advance far in the Tokyo Grand Slam on Friday.

For Klimkait, who is ranked 56th in the world, the first bout went well: She beat Priscilla Gneto of France with a yuko in the Under 57 kg category. She did not make it past the second round, however. Japan’s Yoshida Tsukasa defeated the Ontarian with a waza-ari.

Tsukasa then made it all the way to the final where she outcompeted her fellow countrywoman, Nae Udaka. The bronze medals were awarded to Mongolia’s Sumiya Dorjsuren and Japan’s Momo Tamaoki.

In the Under 52 kg group, Ecaterina Guica, 26th in the world rankings, faced off with Rina Tatsukawa of Japan. Tatsukawa overpowered the Montrealer by waza-ari.

In fact, the Under 52 kg category was completely dominated by the Japanese. The gold medal was claimed by Natsumi Tsunoda, who triumphed over Uta Abe in the final. Rina Tatsukawa and Ai Shishime shared the third spot on the podium.

Tokyo Grand Slam action will continue in Japan on Saturday and Sunday. Stéfanie Tremblay (Under 63 kg), Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (Under 63 kg), Kelita Zupancic (Under 70 kg), Arthur Margelidon (Under 70 kg), Bradley Langlois (Under 70 kg) and Étienne Briand (Under 81 kg) will all compete on Saturday.

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Written Sportcom for Judo Canada