Canada’s two females representatives participated in the Under 78k category, both Marylise Lévesque and Catherine Roberge ended their day with the same fate: Lévesque was bested by Poland’s Daria Pogorzelec, while Roberge was defeated by Portugal’s Yahima Ramirez.

In men’s competitions, Antoine Valois-Fortier injured his left elbow and was forced to retire from the competition, while Kalem Kachur (Under 81 kg) was surprised in a bout by Hungary’s Sandor jr Nagysolymosi.

“I would say that the three matches were within our reach,” analyzed Kachur.  “Marylise (Lévesque) had one of her attacks countered, Catherine (Roberge) was penalized early on in her match, and I was far too slow.” he concluded.

Saturday, Sergio Pessoa caused unexpected celebration with a fifth place finish in the Under 60kg class, after having missed the past seven months of competitions.  Only South Korea’s Jin-Min Jang was able to get past the Quebec native; Jang then went on to win the gold medal.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

The Quebecer, ranked 30^th in the world, celebrated his return in impressive fashion, scoring an ippon in his very first bout versus the Czech Pavel Petrikov, 45^th.

“I got off to a really good start. I was a little stressed at first because it was my first bout in seven and a half months. That first victory gave me a lot of confidence,” explained Pessoa, who tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a training session in Brazil.

The Canadian judoka then went on to beat the Brazilian Felipe Kitadai, 15^th in ranking, by yuko, before taking out the Finn Valtteri Jokien, 32^nd in the world, by way of an ippon.

His run would come to an end against the South Korean Jin-Min Jang, 25^th in the world, eliminating Pessoa with both a waza-ari and yuko.

“He was pretty unknown before this year, but he’s had some good results the past weekends. He finished third in both Paris and Austria. He’s a solidly skilled judoka,” Pessoa reiterated, in regards to the competition’s eventual gold medalist.

A step closer to London

Thanks to his performance, the 23-year-old athlete inched a bit closer to a berth in the upcoming London Games. His 5^th place finish will garner him 40 points, boosting his overall ranking to 19^th in the Olympic standings.

Keep in mind that the top 22 in the world, with a quota of one athlete per country, will qualify for the big show in 2012.

“I feel that with the points I’ve won today, I’m pretty much a shoe-in to be selected for the Olympic Games,” Pessoa affirmed.

The Quebecer Frazer Will, who’s battling Pessoa for the one available spot in the under 60 kg category, didn’t do himself any favors with a first round loss, Saturday, a result that will evidently not help his chances of qualifying.

Also in Düsseldorf, Joliane Melançon (-57 kg), Nicholas Tritton (-73 kg) and Sasha Mehmedovic (-66 kg) all won their first round fights but were unable to progress any further, while Michal Popiel (-66 kg) was beaten in his one and only bout.

Sunday will see in action Marylise Lévesque and Catherine Roberge, in the under 78 kg class, along with Kalem Kachur and Antoine Valois-Fortier, in the under 81 kg division.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

“I’ve won a few World Cup medals previously, but this is the first time I’ve won one in Europe.  In Judo, European world cups are known to have the most competitive fields, so I’m very happy with my silver,” commented Valois-Fortier, who is currently ranked 28^th in the world.

The Quebec native had a tiring day, having to win no less than five bouts, each lasting five regulation minutes in order to reach the finals in the Under 81kg weight class.  “There were so many judokas!  No match was easy, either.  Each one was challenge; sadly I wasn’t able to win my very last match, but I’m nonetheless happy with my day,” he said.

The 21 year old Canadian was taken by surprise in the final, by the Democratic Republic of Georgia’s

Levan Tsiklauri (ranked 50^th), who scored in ippon.  “I found myself in an odd, unfamiliar position.  We started upright, he brought me the ground, and finished it off with an immediate armlock.  The upright starting position was what surprised me,” analyzed Valois-Fortier.

Valois-Fortier was regardless pleased with his performance today, which enabled him to earn valuable points towards a berth for London 2012 Olympic Games.  “I already have a lot of points, possibly enough points.  So far as I know, today’s silver will put me in the top 22 which is what’s required to qualify.”  Prior to the Oberwart Judo World Cup, Valois-Fortier was provisionally ranked 20^th in his weight class; he could climb the rankings further at the upcoming Düsseldorf Grand Prix in Germany next weekend, or at the PanAmerican Championships in April.

Also competing in the Under 81kg category Sunday, Quebec’s Kalem Kachur was unable to achieve a ranking due to his being eliminated in his second match.

Budapest Judo World Cup

Quebec athletes Catherine Roberge and Marylise Lévesque were busy on the tatami themselves at the Budapest World Cup in Hungary in the Under 78kg category.

Roberge earned herself a fifth place finish, as a result of her three victories and two defeats; Lévesque was shut out after her second duel.

“It was a really great day; it’s been a while since I’ve been able to take part in multiple bouts in a single day.  I had a good draw and I had some solid performances,” commented Roberge – currently ranked 29^th in the world.  Despite her contentment, the Canadian was disappointed to have lost her momentum, losing in the quarter final against Japan’s Tomomi Okamura – ranked 18^th internationally.  “I made a tiny mistake and she was able to take advantage of that immediately.  I lost control of the fight, but I lost by yuko.”  Roberge then won in the repechage but was consequently bested by Hungary’s Abigel Joo who is fifth in the world in the sport.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

Still growing into the 60kg category, Frazer Will was eliminated in his first match when Russia’s Dmitriy Kulikov dolled out an ippon in 3 minutes 29 seconds.  Will dominated the combat – however without being able to score a point – and the Canadian was surprised by the single and only attack from his adversary.  Kulikov’s attack send Will to the mat – and signalled his defeat.  The weight division was won by the Democratic Republic of Georgia’s Betkil Shukvani, who bested the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Ilgar Mushkiyev in the final; Korea shared the third step on the podium between athletes Jin-Min Jang and Won-Jin Kim.

In the Under 66kg category, Alister Ward won his first bout against the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Tarian Karimov (currently ranked 13^th in the world) with two Waza-ari – the first in a sweep, the second in a throw.  “There was a lot of action at the beginning.  I followed Nicolas (Gill)’s advice and I didn’t make any mistakes,” explained Ward.  “I had a good warm-up with Frazer and I also had a good hour between the weigh-in and the match to rehydrate and eat,” added the Canadian, who has remedied his in-competition weak spells with a solid warm up.

Despite early successes, Ward was eliminated in the second round, courtesy of Hungary’s Zsolt Gorjanacz – a difficult match.  “He attacked me without me really feeling like I was in danger, it felt like there was nothing I could really do,” commented Ward.  Canada’s flag bearer was defeated with a Waza-ari, resulting from three accumulated penalties, after having completed five minutes in regulation time.

In this weight class, France’s Pierre Duprat won the gold medal; Tomofumi Takajo of Japan earned the silver medal, and the bronze was shared between Mongolia’s Altansukh Dovdon, and Korea’s Jun-Ho Cho.

Sunday, Kalem Kachur and Antoine Valois-Fortier will take to the tatamis in Oberwart.  Marylise Lévesque and Catherine Roberge will also be in action in the Budapest Judo World Cup in Hungary.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

During the 2012 Kagami Biraki celebration in Quebec, two of the most prominent judoka in the history of judo  in Canada, were promoted to ninth degree black belts (Kudan). 

Mr. Raymond Damblant is involved in judo for over 60 years and still serves as the technical director of the Hakudokan Judo Club in Montreal – one of the most successful judo programs in Canada.

Mr. Hiroshi Nakamura involved in judo for over 50 years is a head coach of Shidokan Judo Club -  today the largest and most successful competitive program in Canada and a  host to the National Training Centre.

From the left: Robert Arbour – the Chair of Grading Board for Quebec,

Hiroshi Nakamura – Kudan, Raymond Damblant – Kudan,

Vincent Grifo – the President of Judo Canada.

During the same ceremony,  Mr. Serge A. Piquette – former President of Judo Canada, was inducted to the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in the builders category. 

In the middle of his second bout, Antoine Valois-Fortier was quite certain he had the Moldovan Sergiu Toma, bronze medallist at the last World Championships, right where he wanted him.  Unfortunately for the Quebecer, Toma was able to force an overtime period with a strong finish in regulation time.  “After the three minutes of extra time, the fight was still even.  I ended up losing 2-1 on a split decision,” the judoka described.  Despite the loss, Valois-Fortier was upbeat about his performance against a top-notch opponent.  As well, the ninth place finish gives him valuable points towards qualifying for the Olympic Games.  “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but this puts me in great position,” the Quebecer added.

In the under 78 kg class, Amy Cotton won her first round fight before falling to the 4^th ranked and 2010 World champion, American Kayla Harrison.  In the same category, Marylise Lévesque, of La Pocatière, was unable to get past her first opponent, Audrey Tcheumeo, who had the luxury of fighting at home in front of her fans.

Like Lévesque, the two other Canadians in action on the tatamis were also unable to obtain a classification. Kelita Zupancic (-70 kg) and Kalem Kachur (-81 kg) also lost their first round bouts.

The Canadian contingent will take part in a training camp this week in Paris.  Afterwards the team will split, each side taking part in a World Cup competition.  While the men will head to do battle in Oberwart, Austria, the women will represent Canada in Budapest, Hungary.

The judoka from Blainville began her day well with a defeat of American Anna Palmer by ippon. Her next opponent was the Frenchwoman Automne Pavla (ranked 6^th in the under 57 kg class). Pavla eliminated Melançon (18^th worldwide), and would eventually go on to claim the bronze medal.

“My strategy was to take her to ground because the French are not strong on the ground, but she knew that that was one of my strengths and never gave me an opportunity to bring her down, Melançon explained. We were always battling along the borders. Whenever we went to ground we simply went out of bounds, and began again in the center.”

Melançon, who already has completed five competitions that count towards Olympic qualifying, needs a minimum score of 40 points per tournament to improve her overall total.  With a final score of 36 points today, she was unable to move up in the standings.

“I have two more tournaments left to pass ahead of the three other judokas, she pointed out. I have no intention of changing my game plan.  I could also try to compete in another World Cup, but to obtain the necessary points I’d need to reach the final.  Therefore, I’m counting on the Germany Grand Prix and Pan-American Championships to get those points.”

Record of 1-1 for Will, Mehmedovic and Popiel

Registered in the under 60 kg division, the Quebecer Frazer Will took home the 17^th spot thanks to a record of one win and one loss.  He beat the Uzbek Ulugbek Azizov before falling to the 13^th ranked Armenian, Hovhannes Davtyan.

In the under 66 kg class, both Canadian judokas succumbed to the same fate to finish the tourney in 33^rd position. Michal Popiel took care of the Mongol Cedric Bessi but couldn’t manage a result against the Russian Mikhail Pulyaev.  Sasha Mehmedovic also won his first bout against the Malagasy Elie Norbert, before losing to the Korean Min-Ho Choi.

Nicholas Tritton lost his first bout versus the Russian Zelimkhan Ozdoev, and did not receive a classification.

Sunday, Marylise Lévesque (-78 kg), Amy Cotton (-78 kg), Kelita Zupancic (-70 kg) and Antoine Valois-Fortier (-81 kg) will all be in action on the tatamis at the Paris Grand Slam.

-30-

The Quebecois judoka took her first match with an ippon against England’s Natalie Powell, prior to being defeated by the Ukraine’s Maryna Pryshchepa.  In overtime, Lévesque bested Italy’s Assunta Galeone with an ippon.  In the bronze medal final, Lévesque was bettered by China’s Ji Zhang – who won the medal with an ippon.  “I am a bit disappointed, because I came here with the intention of being on the podium,”
Lévesque commented.  “I’m here to earn points for my Olympic qualification, and a fifth place finish doesn’t really give me enough to get closer to that.”

Lévesque’s coach, Nicolas Gill had prepared a plan for her duel with Zhang, “He told me to watch out for her left hand, because she’d used it for that sort of attack before – and that’s exactly what happened.  She threw me with a waza-ari and afterwards I couldn’t get myself out of that position, so she was able to complete another waza-ari,” analyzed Lévesque.  

Also in action on the tatami in the Under 78kg category, Quebec’s Amy Cotton and Catherine Roberge were not ranked at the end of competitions today.  Cotton lost her first bout when her adversary, China’s Jie Zhang scored an ippon.  Roberge also was defeated in her first match against South Korea’s Mi Jeong-Gyeong.

Kelita Zupancic, from Ontario, finished her weekend in seventh place in the Under 70kg class.  Firstly she took on the Ukraine’s Tetyana Savenko with a waza-ari, then defeated England’s Gemma Gibbons with a yuko; Zupancic was then bested by Spain’s Maria Bernabeu Avomo.  Zupancic moved onto overtime, but was unable to get past Japan’s Karen Nunira in their first match against one another.

Only four competitions remain for judokas to earn qualification points for the London 2012 Olympic Games.  That in mind, the who’s who of judo will be present and focused at next weekend’s Paris Grand Slam – the most important match in the last four years.  

The Arlon Open

Quebec’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard was the highest ranking Canadian at the Arlon Open in Belgium this weekend.  The Canadian won her first two matches, then took on Algeria’s Shanhez Bour in the first round – earning a berth into elimination round.  Beauchemin-Pinard then experienced the same series of combats prior to finally succumbing to the Netherland’s Eveline Donkers.  

Stéfanie Tremblay also contributed a picture-perfect series of matches with two wins in the round robin, but a loss in the first round at the hand of France’s Claire Pierret.  Alix Renaud-Roy (Under 70kg) also saw her weekend end in the first round, where she was defeated by France’s Irène La Villonière.  Renaud-Roy earned herself two victories and one loss in pool competitions.

Fortified with a win and a loss each in the pools competition, Quebec’s Audrée Francis-Méthot (Under 52kg) and Élodie Lavoie (Under 63kg), were forced to admit defeat in the first round; Francis-Méthot was bested by the Ukraine’s Shushana Hevondian, while Lavoie was bettered by Spain’s Meitxell Bruteau.

Quebec’s Sarha-Myriam Mazouz (Under 70kg) and Ontario’s Nicole Jenicek (Under 57kg) each earned one win and two losses in the round robin, but in the end it was not sufficient to earn them access to the table.  Nova Scotia’s Whitney Lohnes (Under 48kg) and Quebec’s Ecaterina Guica (Under 57kg) and Marie-Ève De Villers-Matte (Under 70kg) were unable to register wins in their pools.

The Visé Open

Canada’s male judokas were competing at the Visé Open, also in Belgium.  The five Canadians taking part in the action were unable to achieve final rankings.  Quebec’s Patrick Gagné provided the best result however, with three victories and a loss in the Under 66kg category.

Michael Fortin-Demers (Under 66kg), Alister Ward (Under 66kg), Arthur Margelidon (Under 81kg) and Scott McGrandle  (Under 81kg) all were defeated in their first bouts.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

Fighting in the under 66 kg category, Popiel started strong with a victory over the Russian Armen Avagyan before falling to the eventual silver medalist, Georgian judoka Sandro Iakobashvili.

In the under 73 kg class, Nicholas Tritton fell in his first bout against the Georgian Tengiz Paposhvili, who would go later go on to claim the silver medal.

Arlon Open

In Belgium, the Quebecoise Ecaterina Guica (-57 kg) finished her round robin tourney with a record of two wins and one loss.  In the tournament draw, she began with a win over the Frenchwoman Treicy Etiennar before suffering defeat versus the German Julia Knops.  The end result was a respectable, 7^th place finish.

Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, of Québec, qualified for the final draw in the under 63 kg division thanks to a 1-2 record in the round robin tourney, but did not receive a classification due to her first round exit against the Japanese Megumi Tsugane.

The Ontarian Kaitlyn Dennis (-57 kg) won one and lost one bout in the round robin stage, but was unable to continue on to the tournament draw.  She was forced to withdraw due to an injury.

The Nova Scotian Whitney Lohnes (-48 kg) and the Quebecers Roxanne Smith-Robitaille (-48kg), Élodie Lavoie (-63kg) and Alix Renaud-Lavoie (-70kg) were unable to win a round robin bout, denying them entry into the final draw.

The Visé Open

At the Visé Open in Belgium, the Canadian men had a tough go at it.  None of the seven judokas in action were able to come away with a classification. Dilyaver Sheykhislyamov (-90kg) recorded two wins and two losses, while Justin Imagawa (-73 kg) finished with an even mark of 1-1.

Diego Sanchez (-60kg), Arthur Margelidon (-73kg), Derek Langlois (-73kg), Vlodymyr Semyrozum (-90kg) and Guillaume Perrault (-90kg) all lost their one and only fight of the day.

                                                           -30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada

In the Under 63 kg category, Stéfanie Tremblay won a short final match against fellow Canadian, Ontario’s Monika Burgess, who herself won a bronze on Tuesday in Junior matches.

“After a minute and a half of combat when the score was still 0-0, Stéphanie and Monika attacked at the exact same height.  Monika fractured her collarbone and as a result was unable to continue the bout.  However the positive aspect is that since Monika is still technically considered a Junior competitor, she was really happy with her performance today.  Despite her pain, she wanted to pick up her medal before going to hospital,” explained Canadian coach Sergio Pessoa.

Élodie Lavoie, from Quebec, also earned herself a bronze medal in the Under 63 kg category on Tuesday in Junior competitions.

Earning a gold medal was Audrey Francis Méthot (Under 52 kg), who bested England’s Amelia Cook in an exciting final round.  “It was a great result for Audrey, she recently changed weight category and this is her first match in her new 52 kg class, it’s a great start for her,” commented Pessoa.

In the 57 kg weight class, Ontario’s Nicole Jenicke and Quebec’s Ecaterina Guica won silver and bronze medals, respectively, with Guica winning also a Junior title in her class.  Still in Junior matches, Ontario’s Kaitlyn Dennis (57 kg) also fought her way to a bronze medal.

In action on the tatami in the Under 70 kg category, Alix Renaud-Roy won silver, defeating New Zealand’s Moira DeVillers in the final.  In women’s junior bouts, Renaud-Roy also brought home some hardware, winning silver in her weight category.  Senior competitor Sarah-Myriam Mazouz (70 kg) joined her many-medalled teammates, with her bronze-worthy victory against Wales’ Kate Rennie.

Nova Scotia native Whitney Lohnes battled her way to a silver medal in the Under 48 kg category; the Canadian lost out in the final to England’s Charlotte Farbon.  However, yesterday in Junior competitions Lohnes earned top honours in the grand finale.

In men’s judo action, Guillaume Perrault (90 kg) fought his way to a silver medal against England’s Jon Purssey, who took the gold. “Everything went well in the final, I had a penalty advantage but I attacked a bit weakly and Purssey counter attacked with a waza-ari.  With a few seconds left in the match, he scored an ippon when I was going for a last attack,” analyzed Perrault.

Ontario native Nedjo Sarenac also won a silver medal in the Open category, and a bronze medal in the Under 100 kg class.

In Under 73 kg judo action Derek Langlois (Ontario) grabbed the second step of the podium with a silver medal; in the final, the Canadian was bested by Wales’ Curtis Dodge.  In the same category, Quebec’s Justin Imagawa finished fifth.

Quebec’s Patrick Gagné (66kg) and Ignatio Rodriguez (Over 100 kg) both finished fifth; Diego Sanchez (60 kg) rounds out the results with a seventh place ranking in his category.

-30-

Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada