Montreal, January 24, 2016 – The Havana Judo Grand Prix, in Cuba, came to a quick end for Team Canada. In the Under 78 kg, Catherine Roberge was eliminated after her second match, whereas Marc Deschênes was shown the door after his first bout, in the Under 100 kg.

The Beauport judoka, 29^th in the world, began her day on a positive note, with a victory by ippon over Cuban Lizandra Vinent Acua. In her second bout, however, things turned out differently, when German Luise Malzahn, fifth in the world, defeated the 33-year-old Quebecoise by ippon.

“Catherine started the day well, beating the Cuban in her first round by ippon,” said Sasha Mehmedovic, national judo coach. “In the second round, she was managing the match very well against the top-ranked German and finalist at this competition, until she got thrown for a yuko and got pinned on the ground for ippon.”

On the men’s side, Laval judoka Marc Deschênes was up against Ivan Remarenco, from the United Arab Emirates, in the opening round. The 23-year-old Quebecer, 69^th, was unfortunately no match for Remarenco, 28^th, who scored an ippon two minutes into the bout.

“Marc lost to a very tough opponent from UAE and medal finalist at this competition,” said the coach. Marc could not find an opportunity to get a dominant grip during his fight. He was eventually thrown for ippon. Marc is still inexperienced internationally, so his next goal will be to gain more experience in the upcoming years.”

These results conclude a disappointing competition for Canada, with no Maple Leafers making podium in the Cuban capital. The next major opportunity for Canadian judokas to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games will be the Paris Grand Slam, in France, on February 6 and 7.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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