Montréal, May 19, 2024 (Judo Canada) – The Judo World Championships are officially underway in Abu Dhabi! Kelly Deguchi got the ball rolling as the first Canadian to compete in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, in the under-52 kg category.

Photo: IJF / Sabau Gabriela
Kelly Deguchi

However, the competition did not go as well as the 25-year-old athlete had hoped. Deguchi lost her first bout of the day to Portugal’s Maria Siderot, whom she also faced as recently as ten days ago, at the Astana Grand Slam. Siderot, who is ranked 27th in the world, defeated Deguchi in Astana, and she did so again today [Sunday] after scoring a waza-ari with only a minute remaining in the fight.

Deguchi then attempted to get on the board, but her opponent succeeded in protecting her lead to win the tight match.

“After being thrown, Kelly had to try to chase down her opponent, but before she could grab her, the time ran out,” explained national team coach Antoine Valois-Fortier. “She fought better than she did in Astana, but she still didn’t make all the adjustments she needed to in this second match-up.”

For Deguchi, who won a bronze medal at the most recent PanAmerican-Oceania Championships, these were her third Senior World Championships. At the first two, the Albertan, who is ranked 33rd in the world, was eliminated in the second round.

In today’s big final, Italy’s Odette Giuffrida defeated Uzbekistan’s Diyora Keldiyorovato clinch the gold medal. The bronze medals went to Mascha Ballhaus of Germany and Amandine Buchard of France.

There is plenty more action to look forward to this week in Abu Dhabi, and Canada’s performances will be crucial to the next few months’ activities.

“For several of [the athletes], it will determine whether or not they’ll compete in the Olympics, so there’s definitely some extra pressure there,” said Valois-Fortier.

Four Canadians will be in action on Monday, beginning with Christa Deguchi and Jessica Klimkait in the under-57 kg weight division. They are currently ranked first and second in the world, respectively. Julien Frascadore will hit the tatamis in the under-66 kg category, while Arthur Margelidon competes in the under-73 kg group.

On Tuesday, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg) and François Gauthier-Drapeau (-81 kg) will join the action at the World Championships. Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi (+78 kg), Louis Krieber-Gagnon (-90 kg), Shady ElNahas (-100 kg), and Kyle Reyes (-100 kg) will compete later in the week.

Para Judo Grand Prix

Meanwhile, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Canada’s Priscilla Gagné was in action at the Para Judo Grand Prix. Although she was feeling a little under the weather this morning, she fought in the J1 under-57 kg category and finished seventh.

After losing her first match of the day to Larissa Silva of Brazil, Gagné moved on to the repechage, where she won one bout before her coach pulled her out of the competition due to the state of her health.

On Saturday, Justin Karn lost both his fights in the J2 under-60 kg division.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

For more information:

Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
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(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org