Montreal, May 13, 2015 – Justin Karn, the only Canadian in action on the tatami on the first day of the IBSA World Judo Championships, earned a seventh place in the Under 60kg class on Wednesday, in Seoul, South Korea. At the end of the day, the Guelph athlete had tallied three wins and two losses.

More than 250 competitors from about 40 countries took part in the multisport competition for visually-impaired athletes.

Karn was off to a great start, with victories over Henry Jesus Borges, from Uruguay, and Rayfran Mesquita Pontes, from Brazil.

The quarterfinals saw Karn lose by ippon to Japan’s Makoto Hirose, who went on to win the bronze.

In repechage, the Canadian judoka found his way back to victory lane in a match against French Kevin Villemont, but eventually had to bow down before Kazakhstan’s Anuar Sariyev, the other bronze medallist.

“At one minute to the end of the match, Justin was trailing behind,” said Canadian coach Andrzej Sadej. “In the final seconds, Anuar made a desperate maneuver to avoid taking a penalty and Justin found himself in trouble. His opponent then clinched the decisive point.”

In the London Paralympic Games, the Montreal-based Ontarian also came in seventh.

“It was an interesting day, but things could have turned out better for Justin. The two athletes that defeated him ended up making the podium.”

In the grand final match, Mouloud Noura from Algeria came out on top over Japan’s Takaari Hirai.

On Thursday, Priscilla Gagné (Under 52kg) and Alexander Rodoman (Under 81kg) will both be on the tatami.

– 30 –

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada