(Montreal) When she was younger, karateka Lily-Rose Nolet watched attentively the fights of the Japanese Ayumi Uekusa on the international scene. Opposed to the former world champion at the Premier League tournament in Dublin, the Quebecer had “quite an experience” despite the defeat, in addition to emerging more motivated than ever.
It’s been some time since the 19-year-old athlete told her coach Rock Guindon that she wanted to face Uekusa, currently ranked second in the world in the over 68 kg category. This long-awaited moment came in the first elimination round of this round-robin tournament played last Saturday.
True to their respective styles, the two rivals showed patience and studied each other at length at the start of the fight. There were less than 40 seconds left when the Japanese representative took the lead. The team that won gold in Egypt and Morocco in the Premier League earlier this season quickly doubled its lead afterwards. She won 2-0, eliminated Nolet and ended the day on the third step of the podium.
“It was quite an experience to fight against her! I’ve been watching it since I was little. I was very excited! I was looking forward to this fight and learned several things that I can work on. I know I have my place,” shared Lily-Rose Nolet who finished in seventh place in Dublin.
“By comparison, Lily has 17 international tournaments to her credit and the Japanese has nearly fifty,” said Rock Guindon. All in all, the fight ended 2-0, yes, but Lily fought really well. »
The Gatinoise, who ranks ninth in the world, beat Frenchwoman Nancy Garcia 2-1 from the start. The two karatekas were tied 1-1 when Nolet reached her opponent with just 14 seconds left. Enough to give him confidence for the future, while Garcia, gold medalist at the Paris Open last January, represented a major challenge.
“The Frenchwoman has already won five medals in the Premier League. She had beaten Lily-Rose on French soil this winter. To be able to compete and win against her at 19 years old, it really demonstrates her full potential,” said Rock Guindon.
Nolet dominated his other two duels in the group round. She defeated Slovenia’s Maria Zibret Zala 5-1, then Germany’s Meryem Yildirim 6-1.
The junior Pan American champion will now prepare for three major competitions in October, starting with the World Combat Sports Games in Saudi Arabia. The following week she will be at the Senior World Championships in Hungary. She will then travel to Santiago, Chile, for the Pan American Games.