Montreal, May 24, 2015 – Judoka Antoine Valois-Fortier came in fifth in the Under 81kg this Sunday, at the World Masters Championships in Rabat, Morocco.

With two penalties, he lost the fight for the bronze medal to Georgia’s Avtandili Tchrikishvili, world champion, who was penalized only once during the match. “I could have managed the match better,” says the Quebec native. “I should not have lost. He scored a yuko and I couldn’t bounce back.”

It was Japan’s Takanori Nagase who, by scoring an ippon, stopped Valois-Fortier on his quest for the gold. The Quebec judoka had won his first match against Hungarian Szabolcs Krizsan, and then in repechage, his opponent, Russia’s Alan Khubetsov was penalized three times, which eventually won Valois-Fortier the match.

With a tally of two wins and two losses, Antoine Valois-Fortier’s had quite the bumpy ride on Sunday, marked by a few physical injuries. “I’ve been having problems with my knee and my right hand. It didn’t make that much of a difference during the matches, but it sure affected my preparation for the tournament.”

It was a short day for the women on the tatami, with the two female Quebec judokas facing elimination in their first matches in the competition.

In the Under 70kg class, Kelita Zupancic came up short against Israel’s Linda Bolder, who won by ippon.

Catherine Roberge, fighting in the Under 78kg class, also lost by ippon in her match against French athlete Andrey Tcheumeo.

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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada