Montréal, August 12, 2011 – It was the second day of competition, Friday, for the cadet World Championships, an event taking place in Kiev, Ukraine, that assembles all the best under 17-year-old talent in the world.  The youngster Abby Lloyd was the best Canadian on the day, coming away with a ninth place finish in the under 48 kg division.

The 14-year-old judoka began her competition in style by winning her first match by ippon versus the Lebanese, Zalfa Hassan. Such was not the case in her second bout, however, as the British Colombian would bow out against the Lithuanian, Viktorija Kozlova, losing by ippon.

“Abby is the youngest athlete in our Canadian contingent.  She greatly impressed me by how serious she was in her preparation for the competition.  She got off to a wonderful start with her first fight.  In the second match, she committed a few technical errors that can be chalked up to inexperience.  Overall I thought she showed some great things today (Friday),” national coach Marie-Hélène Chisholm pointed out.

In the same category, the Quebecoise Josiane Gagné was beaten in her very first match, falling to the German, Selina Dietzer, by yuko.

In the under 52 kg class, Alexia Piché suffered the same outcome as her teammate.  The Quebecoise fell in the first round to the Egyptian, Nouran Reda, who won by way of waza-ari.

On the Men’s side, British Colombia native, George Lukas, was in action in the under 60 kg division.  He delivered a very tight battle against the Portuguese, Joao Abeu.  Two costly minor penalties would unfortunately be Lukas’ downfall, as his opponent would come away with the victory.

Finally, in the under 66 kg category, the Quebecoise André Nogeira lost his first match by ippon versus the Egyptian, Mohab Tawfik.

“It was a tough day for the Canadian judokas, Chisholm admitted.  The opponents they faced were all at their level of experience and competence, and were all beatable.  Most of them (Canadians) were affected by the pressure of the competition, and froze early on in their bouts. It’s pretty normal, seeing as though it’s their first international tournament, and a major one at that.”

Saturday will feature the Albertan, Jaquina Simao (57 kg) and Ontarian, Monica Burgess (63 kg), as well as the Quebecers, Louis Krieber-Gagnon (73 kg) and Petro Poliktar (81 kg).

“They are four good, talented athletes who will have their chance to show their worth. What’s wonderful about this age group is that truly anything can happen. There still aren’t any superstars.  By going one fight at a time, anything is possible,” Marie-Hélène Chisholm explained.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada