Montreal, May 27, 2016 (Sportcom) – Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard came close to getting her hands on a bronze medal this Friday in Mexico. The Quebec judoka, who’s preparing for the Rio Olympic Games, lost the fight for one of the Under 57 kg bronze medals at the World Masters competition in Guadalajara.

Beauchemin-Pinard defeated Austrian Sabrina Filmoser and Korean Jan-Di Kim on her way to the semi-finals, when she was stopped in her tracks by France’s Helene Receveaux.

“I’m happy with my victory over the Korean girl,” said Beauchemin-Pinard. “It was the first time I’d been up against her, and she had had some great performances.”

In the fight for a bronze medal, the Saint-Hubert native ended up losing to Hungarian Hedvig Karakas after being penalized twice.

“I’m disappointed I lost two fights by shido, though, especially because I feel like some of those penalties were questionable,” explained the Quebecer. “The last time I fought these girls, I came out on top.”

Even though she didn’t make it to the podium, she draws a positive balance from the tournament. “Fifth is not bad at all! My main goal is to prepare for the Games. I still have things I have to learn, and I’m focusing on getting ready for Rio.”

Meanwhile in the Under 66 kg, Antoine Bouchard was eliminated after his very first match in the competition. Three penalties tipped the scale in Mongolian Tumurkhuleg Davaadorj’s favour.  

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada