Montreal, November 23, 2018 – Marie Besson (-52 kg) was the only Canadian athlete to score a victory at the Osaka Grand Slam, in Japan, on Friday.

The athlete from Dolbeau started her day off with a win by waza-ari against Chinese Xu Feng. The Quebecoise was able to get out her opponent’s grip, who brought her down on the mat near the end of the bout.

She then faced Brazilian Jessica Pereira, who won by ippon after immobilizing Besson on the mat 45 seconds into the fight.

“The goal for Marie was to gain experience. It was her first big senior international event. She really gave it her all,” said Sasha Mehmedovic, the Canadian team coach.

In the same category, Ecaterina Guica, from Montreal, received a bye through the first round, but was then defeated by Sosorbaram Lkhagvasuren, from Mongolia.

The all-Japanese finale was won by Uta Abe, who won against Ai Shishime.

“It was a hard loss for Ecaterina. She had a good draw, but she couldn’t get through the second round. Her score was important for her Olympic qualification. She’ll have to recover and focus on the next Grand Slam,” explained Mehmedovic.

On the men’s team, Jacob Valois had a similar fate in the -66 kg category. The athlete from Boucherville received a bye through the first round before being defeated by waza-ari by German Manuel Scheibel.

Several Canadian team members will be in action on Saturday.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada