Montreal, August 24, 2015 – Sergio Pessoa’s day at the World Judo Championships on Monday came to an end after two matches in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Competing in the Under 60kg, he won his first match against Hong Kong’s Kin Ting Yu, ranked 102^nd in the world. Pessoa, currently 78^th in the world, got his opponent to take three penalties, against two of his own, and moved through to the next round.

But in the Montreal athlete’s way stood American Aaron Kunihiro, 33^rd in the world. With under a minute left on the clock, Kunihiro brought the combat to a halt with an ippon.

“Disappointed with my performance but I am going to continue to work hard to get to where I want,” said the 26-year-old on Facebook. Pessoa ranked fifth last month in the PanAms, when he got back on the mat for the first time in a while.

Injuries kept him away from competitions for almost two years.

On Tuesday, Saguenay athlete Antoine Bouchard, who’s turning 20 today, will be competing in the Under 60kg, while Montrealer Ecaterina Guica will also be stepping on the tatami, in the Under 52kg class. 

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada