Shady El Nahas marked his return to competition with a silver medal in the under 100 kgs on Sunday at the Grand Slam in Baku, Azerbaijan. However, this result is far from satisfying the Canadian who is aiming for nothing other than the top step of the podium.
Shady El Nahas was on his first outing since the Tokyo Olympics, where he placed fifth last July. This period of inactivity did not appear for the 23-year-old Torontonian, however, who quickly found his bearings on the tatami mat.
He first defeated local judoka Adil Karimli by ippon, before doing the same against Brazilian Andre Humberto in the semi-final. He then faced off against Russian Niiaz Bilalov in a hard-fought final.
Despite several attacks launched in the opening moments of the clash, El Nahas were unable to score and extra time was needed to determine the winner. The representative of the maple leaf was then surprised by his opponent who won by ippon to get his hands on the gold.
“I dominated the fight and I even thought I managed to make a projection. I then received a second shido and I was a lot less careful in overtime. He ultimately tricked me into winning. For me, it is not a result up to my expectations, because I came here for the gold and nothing else, ”commented El Nahas after the hostilities.
The coach of the national team, Sasha Mehmedovic, meanwhile, said he was satisfied with the work done by his protégé who will have the chance to recover in the framework of the Grand Slam of Abu Dhabi, scheduled in less than three weeks. in the United Arab Emirates.
“I’m happy with Shady’s performance overall, especially considering his short training period leading up to this tournament,” said Mehmedovic. It was a great opportunity for him to test himself after the Olympics and he came very close to winning. He will be able to regain his optimal form after a few competitions and I am convinced that we will see him very soon on the top step of the podium. ”
Also in action in the under 100 kg category, British Columbian Ian Ryder was immediately defeated by Adil Karimli, which immediately put an end to his run.
The scenario turned out to be similar for Ontarian Keagan Young (-90 kg) who lost his only match of the day against Japan’s Kosuke Mashiyama. The latter then won his next four duels to be crowned champion of the category.