Montreal, October 20, 2017 – None of the Canadians competing in the Junior World Judo Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, on Friday were able to crack the top seven.

“Our athletes fought very well, even though we didn’t get the results we had anticipated,” declared coach Jean-Pierre Cantin.

Emily Burt finished with a totally respectable 1-1 record in the -63 kg weight division. The Oshawa, Ontario native kicked off her day with an overtime victory over Andreja Leski of Slovenia. In the next round, she bowed out by waza-ari in overtime to Japan’s Honoka Araki, who went on to win the gold medal.

“Emily tripped at the beginning of Golden Score and lost her balance as she tried to regain her stance. Even on the video replay it’s difficult to see what happened, but the Japanese judoka took advantage of the situation to push Emily onto her back and score,” explained Cantin.

“She had a great fight and could definitely have won the bout. She attacked with intensity and put a lot of pressure on her opponent, both standing and on the ground, and the Japanese judoka didn’t even come close to scoring. That’s what makes this loss so painful. Emily came here to win a medal. She was physically and mentally ready, but fate had other plans for her,” he added.

In other action, Hanako Kuno defeated South Korea’s Hee Ju Han before being shown the door by France’s Yasmine Horlaville in overtime.

“It was an important fight, but unfortunately, Hanako wasn’t able to control her opponent and gain the advantage. It was a case of lack of experience,” noted Cantin.

Adriana Portuondo-Isasi (-70 kg) also ended her day with a 1-1 record. The judoka from La Prairie, Quebec, won her fight against Andela Violic of Croatia but was unable to hold out against Ellen Santana of Brazil. In the same weight category, Maria Carla Chirila was beaten by France’s Agathe Devitry in the first round.

Benjamin Kendrick (-90 kg) was the only Canadian to score a victory in the men’s competitions. The bronze medallist at last August’s Cadet World Championships overpowered Germany’s Tim Schmidt in today’s match. His next bout pitted him against Japan’s Koshi Nagai, who went on to win a bronze medal.

“He’s the only Canadian man to have won a match today. I’m proud of him. He showed great maturity in his strategy against the German. He’s definitely a rising star in the judo world,” affirmed the coach.

In the -81 kg group, Alex Marineau lost his only fight of the day to Germany’s Janosch Hunfeld. Also in -81 kg action, Maxim Côté faced the same fate against Hungary’s Benedek Toth.

The last individual competitions will take place on Saturday. Allayah Copeland (-78 kg) and Joe Casey Andres (+100 kg) are the two Canadians who will be hitting the tatamis.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada