After a more difficult outing last weekend in Budapest, Hungary, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard wanted to recover quickly and she did it in great style at the Grand Prix in Zagreb, Croatia, finishing on the top step of the podium. Saturday in the under 63 kg category.
Posted at 3:33 p.m.
“It feels good to be back on the podium, especially after a tough outing like last week. I wanted to move on quickly and come back strong. I knew what had gone less well the last time. I really wanted to go for the gold medal by showing consistency,” rejoiced Beauchemin-Pinard.
The Montrealer faced her biggest challenge in the semi-finals when she faced Brazilian Ketleyn Quadros. Beauchemin-Pinard scored a waza-ari after 1 minute 20 seconds of the fight and kept his advantage until the end of regulation time.
“I took an opportunity to score a point early in the fight. I had to stay focused afterwards to keep my lead. I had beaten Quadros in the Olympics, so I was getting to know her. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it was possible to beat her. »
Anriquelis Barrios was scheduled to face Beauchemin-Pinard in the final, but an injury that occurred in the semis kept the Colombian on the sidelines and victory went to the Canadian.
After taking advantage of a bye in the first round, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard worked hard in her two preliminary encounters. She first won convincingly against Joanne Van Lieshout of the Netherlands in her first fight, before securing her place in the semi-finals by beating Gankhaich Bold of Mongolia in extra time.
“I had a lot more experience than Van Lieshout and I think it showed. I was in control from start to finish even though she showed great things. Then I had beaten Bold last week, but I didn’t want to fall into the trap of sitting on my laurels. I focused on the present moment, I applied the game plan and I pushed into overtime to win,” said Beauchemin-Pinard.
The competitions are very tough and I see several young athletes who have stood out for a few months, it is motivating to see that I win gold in these circumstances. It gives me a good preparation for the Commonwealth Games, but especially for the World Championships.
Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard
Ontarian Mohab ElNahas was the only other Canadian to win at least one fight on Saturday in Zagreb. In the under 81kg category, ElNahas defeated Israel’s Iftach Badash in the first round before dropping the flag in his next match against Germany’s Tim Gramkow.
In the same category as ElNahas, François Gauthier-Drapeau was defeated from the outset by the Portuguese Joao Fernando.
For his part, Arthur Margelidon (-73 kg) lost in his first fight against the Moldovan Adil Osmanov.
The Zagreb Grand Prix continues on Sunday with Shady ElNahas and Kyle Reyes in action at -100kg.
A good day for Isabelle Harris in Winterthur
Isabelle Harris (-63kg) was the top Canadian judoka at the senior European Cup side in Winterthur, Switzerland. Harris ended the day with a bronze medal around her neck after a win over Spain’s Maria Oliver Ferra.
The Canadian started her day strong with a win over Britain’s Jasmine Hacker-Jones. However, she saw her gold medal hopes dashed in her next encounter as she lost to Germany’s and eventual gold medalist Vivian Herrmann.
Harris held her head high in the repechage to win against Switzerland’s Chiara Friden before finally facing Ferra.
Joel DeMaere (-60 kg) ended the day with a record of one win and two losses while Justin Lemire (-73 kg) was defeated in his only duel of the day.
In the under 52 kg, Launa Hinton did not find the way to victory in two fights.
The senior European Cup in Winterthur will continue on Sunday.
Six Canadians win fight in Paks
Of the eight Canadian athletes in action Saturday at the European Junior Cup in Paks, Hungary, six were lucky enough to taste victory in their first matchup of the day.
In the under 66 kg, Yanis Hachemi and Frederic De Cardaillac both won their first bout before losing in the next round. Same story for Jumber Meladze in the under 73 kg category.
In the same division as Meladze, Munkhjin Batdorj meanwhile had the chance to recover in the repechage after going 1-1 in the group stage. Batdorj however lost against the German Philip Drexler in the repechage. Gunner Floyd (-73 kg) was defeated in his first fight of the day.
On the women’s side, three Canadians were entered in the under 70 kg category. Brae Booth and Laurence Biron both won their first bout, but lost the next. Taking advantage of a bye in the first round, Justine Simard however suffered defeat in the next round before being beaten again in the repechage.
Action resumes Sunday in Paks as many more Canadian athletes hit the mats.