Montréal, February 26, 2022 – Competing in the under-60 kg category for only the second time, Julien Frascadore made it all the way to the quarter-finals at the European Open in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday. He defeated several high-level opponents before being halted by two judokas from Azerbaijan.

Although he would have liked to fight for a spot on the podium, Frascadore is satisfied with his performance and longs to take it further. “I’m a bit disappointed because I came here (to Warsaw) to win a medal. But at the same time, I’m glad to have fought some of the best in the weight class. This was only my second competition in the under-60 kg group and I’m still learning a lot. Things move fast. I was glad to be able to gain some experience and see that I’m improving,” he said.

After obtaining a bye for the first round, the 22-year-old Canadian beat Spain’s Alberto Carranza Moreno in his first bout of the day. He then defeated Turkey’s Mihrac Akkus, who is ranked 32nd in the world and represented his country at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

“My first match went really well. I managed to score a waza-ari and an ippon. It was a great start to the day because it prepared me for what was to come. My fight against Mihrac was a tough one. He’s one of the best in the category, so I waited for an opportunity to block him and finish the fight quickly,” said Frascadore of his two victories.

Frascadore’s quest for gold came to a halt in the quarter-final, where he was defeated by Ahmad Yusifov of Azerbaijan in overtime. In the repechage, the Canadian continued to push forward in his fight against Rovshan Aliyev, also of Azerbaijan. The match went into Golden Score, where Aliyev was declared the winner after Frascadore received a third penalty.

Yusifov went on to win the gold medal while Aliyev finished the day with a bronze medal.

“In the quarter-final, Yusifov fought really well. I lacked a bit of offence and he was very fast. He got me onto the ground in overtime and won the match. In the repechage, I still felt like I had a lot of energy, but Aliyev was very a physical opponent, so although I felt strong, I had trouble attacking.”

Frascadore will now turn his attention to Prague, Czech Republic, where he will compete next week. Building on the experience he gained in Warsaw, he will put his best moves back in action in the hopes of leaving Prague with a medal.

Also on Saturday, Hakim Chala (-66 kg) lost his first bout of the day to Armat Yeskaziyev of Kazakhstan, while Gabriel Juteau (-73 kg) was defeated in the second round by Kyprianos Andreou of Cyprus.

In the women’s competition, Isabelle Harris (-63 kg) also lost in the second round to Kirari Yamaguchi of Japan, future gold medalist.

The Warsaw European Open will continue on Sunday, when Mina Coulombe (-78 kg), Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) and Alicia Fiandor (-70 kg) will be in action.

On the men’s side, Alexandre Arencibia (-90 kg), Étienne Briand (-81 kg), Mohab El Nahas (-81 kg), Louis Krieber-Gagnon (-90 kg) and Keagan Young (-90 kg) will compete.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

For more information:

Patrick Esparbès

Chief Operating Officer

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p.esparbes@judocanada.org