Deguchi (second from left)

Montreal, February 8, 2020 – Canadian judoka Christa Deguchi (-57 kg) dominated the competition again on Saturday at the Paris Grand Slam and won the gold medal. The world champion won five bouts to solidify her leading position on the world ranking.

“I wanted to prove that what happened at worlds wasn’t a miracle,” explained the judoka who was defeated in the first round at the last Masters in Qingdao, in China. “I wanted to prove myself I could go more. I think I can go further and focus on competing at the Olympic Games.”

Deguchi, who won the title in Paris for a second year in a row, won her first three matches by ippon in the preliminary rounds in Pool A. She won the semifinal by ippon again, this time against French Sarah Léonie Cysique. In the final, the 24-year-old Canadian defeated Sumiya Dorjsuren, from Mongolia, by waza-ari.

Also fighting in this category, Ontarian Jessica Klimkait was seeded second. She was defeated during the last contest in Pool C by Dorjsuren. After being defeated in repechage, she ranked in seventh place with a score of 2-2.

Montrealer Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg) ranked in fifth place. After winning two matches, she was up against French Clarisse Agbegnenou, first on the world ranking. Beauchemin-Pinard was defeated at the end of a close fight and went into repechage.

She won in repechage and earned a spot in the bronze-medal contest, this time against the #2 on the world ranking, Slovene Tina Trstenjak. The Quebecoise was defeated after another very close fight.

On the men’s team, Antoine Bouchard (-73 kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73 kg) and Jacob Valois (-66 kg) were all eliminated in the preliminary rounds.

Bouchard won two bouts by ippon before being defeated by local judoka Luca Otamane. In another pool, Margelidon won his first bout, but then lost by the eventual runner-up, Kazakh Zhansay Smagulov. Valois also had a score of 1-1.

Several Canadians will be in action in Paris on Sunday, notably the Quebecois Olympic medallist Antoine Valois-Fortier (-81 kg).

Four Medals in Denmark

Harris, Godbout, Ryder and Nemeth

Several Canadian judokas stood out during the Vejle Open in Denmark. They won a total of four medals, one of which was a gold.

Ian Ryder won two matches in a row by ippon to finish on top in the -100 kg category.

“It’s a good confidence booster. I had a more conservative style, because I was able to score quickly during both of my fights. I wanted to stay focused and be smart,” said the judoka, for whom the medal was a first one in Europe.

On the women’s team, Coralie Godbout (-78 kg), Isabelle Harris (-63 kg) and Virginia Nemeth (-48 kg) each earned a silver medal.

“As juniors, Coralie and Isabelle did very well against seniors to win their medals. Both could have won the final, it was very close. They were impressive today. Virginia had a great day. She gave a good effort and could have won as well,” commented coach Jean-Pierre Cantin.

At the end of the day, his athletes have a lot of positive elements from the tournament, notably during the finals, when Coralie Godbout came back strong despite a mistake she made at the beginning of the match.

“I executed a technique I’ve been working on in training for a while, but I had never successfully done it in a tournament,” explained Coralie Godbout.

“I felt good, confident and calm coming into the final. I only made one mistake,” said Isabelle Harris.

Alexandre Arencibia (-81 kg) also held his own with a fifth place, and Alicia Fiandor (-63 kg) ranked in seventh place. The competition will continue on Sunday.

Beaton Wins Silver in Italy

Evelyn Beaton (-48 kg) won a silver medal at the Cadet European Judo Cup in Follonica, in Italy, on Saturday. She won four matches by ippon before losing the final contest against Italian Giulia Carna.

On the men’s team, Lasha Tsatsalashvili (-55 kg) stood out with a score of 3-2, earning him a seventh place.

More Canadians will be fighting in this tournament on Sunday. The Canadian squad in Italy included a total of 31 judokas: 19 boys and 12 girls.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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