Montréal, June 28, 2026 – None of the three Canadians competing at the Qingdao Grand Prix in China won a single match on day three of the event. Kyle Reyes (-100 kg), John Jr. Messé A Bessong (+100 kg), and Coralie Godbout (-78 kg) were all eliminated in their first bouts of the day on Sunday.

“It was a disappointing day, right across the board. There aren’t many positives to draw from it,” said team Canada coach Antoine Valois-Fortier. “In all three of those bouts, our athletes could have won, which makes it all the more disappointing and leaves me with a bitter taste.”

In the under-100 kg division, Kyle Reyes of Ontario found himself up against Adam Sangariev of Russia, who later went on to win the gold medal.

“This was [Kyle’s] first tournament after his back surgery, so he’ll need to find his footing again,” noted Valois-Fortier.

In the opinion of the coach, 32-year-old Reyes will amp up his performance once he gets back into the swing of things. “He still has some great judo left in him. His main challenge will be to stay healthy. He has what it takes, and he still has that drive to perform well. He just needs a bit more time.”

As for Messé A Bessong, he lost to Emirkhan Zholdoshkaziev of Kyrgyzstan, whom he had defeated by ippon when they last faced off at the 2022 Cadet World Championships.

In the women’s under-78 kg category, Godbout bowed out to Ekaterina Tokareva of Kazakhstan, who won by yuko. It was a rematch of the quarter-finals of the Kazakhstan Grand Slam this past May, where the Québécoise had come out on top and finished the day in fifth place.

Several members of the senior Canadian team will compete in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, beginning on July 23.