Montreal, April 7, 2019 – Maxim Côté lived his baptism of fire in a Grand Prix on Sunday, in Antalya, in Turkey. However, his first experience was short-lived: the Quebecois was eliminated after his first fight in the -90 kg category.

“Today (Sunday) was a short day for the Canadian team,” said Canadian coach Michel Almeida after the two Canadians in action were eliminated after their first fight.

Côté fought with the former world champion Avtandili Tchrikishvili. The athlete from Georgia, “Antoine Valois-Fortier’s sworn enemy,” said Almeida, quickly eliminated Côté by ippon after 1 minute and 1 second.

Canadian Marc Deschênes was fighting in +100 kg and had a similar day. The resident of Laval lost his first fight against Belorussian Uladzislau Tsiarpitski.

Almeida thinks Deschênes was at a disadvantage during the fight against a much heavier opponent. “It was a fight during which the weight difference was a determining factor. Marc is lighter, and Tsiarpitski was able to counter two of his attacks and score waza-aris,” he explained.

The Canadian team had more success on Saturday, when Antoine Valois-Fortier and Étienne Briand fought each other for the bronze medal. Valois-Fortier won the bout, and Étienne Briand ranked in fifth place.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada