Montreal, December 4, 2009 – Nicholas Tritton of Perth, Ont., won the silver medal on Friday in men’s 73 kilos at a World Cup judo competition in Suwon, South Korea.

 

After a first round bye, Tritton defeated Gideon Van Zyl of South Africa, Young-Jun Lee of South Korea and Giovanni Di Cristo of Italy. He lost to Gui-Man Bang of South Korea in the final.

 

‘’The South African was very tall but I was in control and threw him to the ground,’’ said Tritton, 25, who earned an Ippon for his throw. ‘’Against the first Korean, I controlled the rhythm, tried various attacks and at the second or third minute, threw him down as well.

 

‘’In the semifinal, I was surprised to face the Italian because our event included the 66 kilos world champion and other good Koreans. It was a tactical match. I stayed in control and I won because he was assessed three penalties.’’

 

 

In the final, Tritton faced the fourth ranked judoka in the world. ‘’I had a good match,’’ he said. ‘’He scored on me at the one-minute mark but I felt fine the rest of the bout. I even threw him down for an Ippon, but the judges decided that based on the new rules it wasn’t one.’’

 

The International Judo Federation recently instilled new rules which included limiting attacks to the legs.

 

Tritton says he is disadvantaged by the new rules because he often scored on attacks to the legs. ‘’Everybody must adjust but it affects my style more than others. When you’ve been practicing a certain way for 15 years and then one day someone changes the rules, it’s obviously pretty difficult.’’

 

 

Tritton feels that under the previous rules he would have won the final. He is therefore pleased to compete at these Asian events in order to get accustomed to the new rules. He has now posted top-five finishes at his last six competitions.

 

 ‘’I feel good, I feel strong I just need to work on some little things.’’

 

Sasha Mehmedovic of North York, Ont., and Michal Popiel of Montreal were not ranked in men’s 66 kilos. They both lost their opening bouts. Mehmedovic fell to the eventual silver medallist and Popiel to the bronze medallist.

 

Amy Cotton (78 kilos), Kalem Kachur (81 kilos), Marylise Lévesque (70 kilos) and Kelita Zupancic (70 kilos) compete on Saturday.

 

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