Montréal, November 26 2021 – This Friday, Julien Frascadore took part in his first Under 60kg judo bout, at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Even if the Canadian wasn’t able to reach the podium, he’ll return home with something more precious: valuable experience, and most importantly renewed motivation.

Julien Frascadore’s first bout on the tatami in his new weight category was against Briton Samuel Hall. It would however be a short-lived affair: after just over a minute and a half, the Québec native was defeated by his opponent, who won by ippon.

“It didn’t go very well for me today, but I choose to view it all as valuable experience. Also, it was my first match in this weight category, so I’m glad I made in the rounds, and had enough energy today (Friday). Over the last month we’ve had to make several changes in training and routine, so today’s results are still relatively positive,” he thoughtfully commented after his match.

The 22 year-old judoka learned several lessons that will benefit him in his ultimate quest: qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. To achieve his goal, he believes that first and foremost, he needs to get used to a completely different style of combat from the one he experienced in the Under 66 kg category.

“The degrees of speed and strength are just not the same, so I’m going to need to train hard and participate in more bouts against the best judokas to gain experience. Today didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but I’m determined to work on certain aspects of my skills that will eventually enable me to win more bouts, and, I hope, to achieve my Olympic dream,” he concluded.

Samuel Hall continued his journey in the tournament to a bronze medal finish, earning the medal by defeating Ukrainian Oleh Veredyba. Taiwan’s Yang Yung Wei grabbed top honours by beating Russia’s Ramazan Abdulaev (who settled for silver) in the grand final.

In women’s judo action on Friday, Kelly Deguchi (-52 kg) also suffered elimination in her first match, where she faced American Katelyn Jarrell, currently ranked 32nd in the world.

The Albertan gave her opponent a proverbial run for their money, but finally had to admit defeat by waza-ari after four minutes on the tatami. Friday was the second Grand Slam appearance for Kelly Deguchi, who took seventh place in the Paris competition a little over a month ago.

Exciting judo matches will continue Saturday in Abu Dhabi, so stay tuned for more updates on your favourite judokas and their progress! Antoine Bouchard (-73 kg), Étienne Briand (-81 kg) and Constantin Gabun (-81 kg) will be stepping on the tatami Saturday.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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