Montreal, August 10, 2022 – The first two Canadian judokas in action on the tatami at the Junior U-21 World Championships faced fierce opposition, Wednesday in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Alberta’s Evelyn Beaton (U-52 kg) went 1-1, while Québec’s Frederic de Cardaillac (U-66 kg) was met with defeat in his only bout of the day.

Beaton started her day in fine form, with a waza-ari victory over Kazakhstan’s Alima Zhumagaliyeva. The Canadian then lost by ippon to experienced Swiss judoka Binta Ndiaye, who, as it turns out, will be fighting for a bronze medal later Wednesday.

“We knew these would be tough bouts,” admitted National Coach Sasha Mehmedovic, who was nonetheless happy to see that both athletes were in good spirits, ready to give their all.

“We were hoping Evelyn’s second match would go a little bit longer, but she got caught on the floor. She didn’t have time to get into her own rhythm. It was tough – Switzerland is one of the best in this category, and they had the upper hand.”

In the Men’s Under 66 kg class, de Cardaillac came up against Yamato Fukuda of Japan.

“Frederic did well in the first two minutes, and was able to get in some attacks, but a tiny little mistake permitted the Japanese athlete to dominate him with his right hand. We had worked on that in training, but unfortunately, Frederic got caught by an ippon.”

Coach Mehmedovic – who is also Beijing and London Olympiad alumnus – foresees his judokas advancing further in the tables overall in future, despite the fact that they have had few opportunities to fight on the international stage for the past two years.

“Over the next year, we want them to get out of the country more for more competitions with the world’s elite, and to take part in preparatory camps. Overall, I have a good feeling about everything, we’ve got a good group, and right now we need to look at the long term. They’ve already demonstrated that they have potential.”

The seasoned coach knows that although his athletes want results quickly, they must consider their performances from a long-term perspective.

On Thursday, the tatami will host Ontario’s Eibhleann Alexander (U-57 kg) and Jumber Meladze (U-73 kg).

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

Informations:
Patrick Esparbès
COO Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org