Montreal, September 29, 2019 – Both Canadians in action on Sunday at the Luxembourg European Open faced strong opponents. Shianne Gronen (-78 kg) and Mohab El Nahas (-90 kg) were both eliminated by the silver medallists of their respective categories.

Gronen scored one victory and one loss in the preliminary rounds. She first defeated French Sarah Seymour. Her strategy was to focus on her grip and not to rush her attacks.

“This was one of my first European opens as a senior. There were a lot of good players here today. I had never fought against her before, but it was a good first fight. I scored two waza-aris with ura nage. It’s a technique I’ve been practising a lot recently,” commented Gronen.

For her second match, she faced German Teresa Zenker, the eventual silver medallist, who defeated her. The Canadian had a similar plan to defeat her opponent, but she didn’t get the result she expected.

“She was a strong player. She countered my attacks and scored two waza-aris. I need to learn to let my opponents work and make mistakes too. This was a good experience for me, and I am looking forward to working with these athletes in the training camp this week!” added Gronen.

El Nahas Bothered by an Injured Elbow

El Nahas, who was a Lima Pan American Games bronze medallist in August, received a bye through the first preliminary round. He was then eliminated by French Hugo Grandhaie, who won by waza-ari after a bout that lasted over five minutes. Grandhaie went on to win the silver medal.

“I messed up hard. I was dominating the whole fight, and in the golden score I decided to make an unnecessary attack and got countered,” said the judoka.

Last weekend, at the Tashkent Grand Prix (Uzbekistan), Ontarian El Nahas injured his right elbow during the warm-up, just before his first fight. Bothered by the pain, he pushed through and won the first bout, but was eliminated after the second. In Luxembourg, the Canadian couldn’t ignore his injury.

“It was bothering me a lot during warm-up, and it was limiting my moves during the fight, unfortunately,” said the Canadian.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

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