Montreal, February 15, 2020 – Caleb Demaere, from Lethbridge, stood out during the Cadet European Cup in Fuengirola, in Spain, on Saturday. The Albertan ranked in seventh place in the -50 kg category. He had a record of 3-2 after losing his last fight of the day against Italian Vincenzo Manferlotti, the eventual bronze medallist.

It’s a promising result for the judoka, who is in his first year fighting in this category. “Caleb was focused during all his fights, and he followed our game plan. To do this as a young athlete can be difficult, because as the day goes by, emotions get in the way. He didn’t make any mistakes,” said Russ Gallant, Demaere’s coach, before adding this was only his second international tournament. “We are very happy!”

Jean-Pascal Coulombe also had a good day and ranked in ninth place in -66 kg with 3 victories and 2 losses. “He easily won his first two fights, and then he lost against an eventual bronze medallist,” commented coach Sergio Pessoa senior about the Sept-Îles native.

“In repechage, he lost against the German, who was a little faster than him. In general, athletes were less nervous and more confident than they were in Italy last week.”

The day was less successful for the girls’ team – none of the Canadians in action was able to score a victory.

Short Day for Seniors in Austria

Also on Saturday, at the Oberwart Judo Open (Austria), Hakim Chala is the only Canadian to have scored a victory. Fighting in -66 kg, he won his first contest by ippon against Ukrainian Pavlo Bilohan, but was then defeated in overtime by Hungarian Bence Pongracz.

“Hakim has trouble with one of his shoulders and it was dislocated. He couldn’t push it, and it might need surgery,” said coach Jean-Pierre Cantin about the Montrealer.

In the same category, Julien Frascadore lost by ippon against Austrian Florian Doppelhammer, and Jacob Valois lost his first bout against French Hugo Fonghetti.

“I was expecting to perform well here, but it didn’t go as planned. The cardio wasn’t there,” commented Valois, from Boucherville. “It was very physical and I was tired from the start. He scored first, and I was able to catch up, but in overtime, fatigue got in the way. It’s a shame, but that’s how judo works, and I can learn from my mistakes. I’ll have to warm up more, and that didn’t help my cardio.”

Finally, during the Bratislava Judo Open for women, in Slovakia, the only Canadian in action, Virginia Nemeth, lost her first bout in -48 kg. The Albertan was defeated by Italian Elisa Adrasti in overtime.

All three tournaments will end on Sunday.

More Canadian results as the Cadet European Cup in Fuengirola

-44 kg F
Brynn Iwaasa, 0-1

-48 kg F
Evelyn Beaton, 0-1
Anne Lee, 0-1
Sophie Lapointe, 0-1

-52 kg F
Mahé Savoie, 0-1
Mathilde Simard-Lejeune, 0-1
Aliya Koliaska, 0-1

-50 kg M
Olivier Gagnon, 0-1
Troy Gallant, 0-1

-55 kg M
Lasha Tsatsalashvili, 0-1
Alexandre Desbiens, 0-2
Frédéric De Cardaillac, 1-1

-60 kg M
Thomas Ganet, 1-1
Félix-Olivier Bertrand, 0-1

-66 kg M
Félix Mercier-Ross, 0-1
Artem Shaporin, 1-1
Jonathan Mostovoy, 0-1

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

Information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org