Canadian Judokas Win Bronze at Tokyo Grand Slam
Canadian Judokas Claim Bronze at Tokyo Grand slam
Two Canadian judokas,François Gauthier-Drapeau and Kyle Reyes,secured bronze medals at the prestigious Tokyo Grand Slam judo event on Sunday,showcasing their skills on the international stage.
Gauthier-Drapeau, hailing from Alma, Quebec, earned his bronze in the men’s under-81 kg category after his opponent, David Karapetyan, was unable to compete in the medal bout due to a shoulder injury.
“My opponent hurt his shoulder in the match before ours,” Gauthier-Drapeau said. “To be honest, I’m very glad to accept the medal, but I would have liked to fight for it. It always feels a bit weird when you take your bows and then it’s suddenly all over. There’s something missing.”
Gauthier-Drapeau’s journey to the podium began with a decisive victory over South Korea’s Woojin Choi. He then faced Japan’s Sotaro Fujiwara, scoring the first point but ultimately losing the match.Fujiwara went on to claim the gold medal.
Undeterred, Gauthier-Drapeau bounced back in the repechage, securing an overtime win against japan’s Yoshito Hojo to advance to the bronze medal final.
Reyes, from Brampton, Ontario, took a different path to his bronze medal in the men’s under-100 kg category. He faced off against Japan’s koki Kumasaka in a grueling match that extended over 10 minutes.
“The bronze medal match was extremely long,” said coach Antoine Valois-Fortier. ”It was very difficult physically, but [Kyle] controlled the fight well and ended up on the podium. He scored some nice points all day today by demonstrating good technique. It was a very good tournament for him.”
Earlier in the tournament,Kumasaka had defeated Toronto’s Shady ElNahas,who unluckily sustained a hand injury in the second-round match.
Reyes’s road to the bronze included a victory over South Korea’s Dohun Choi. He then lost his quarterfinal match to Japan’s Dota Arai, who also secured a bronze medal. Reyes fought his way back into contention by defeating Enkhbayar Altanshagai of Mongolia in the repechage.
Gauthier-Drapeau’s bronze medal win comes less than a month after he claimed gold in the under-90 kg category at the Continental Cup in Montreal.
“Going down in weight after several months is always pretty tough,” he said. “I hadn’t fought in the under-81 kg division since the Olympics. It’s painful, and it wasn’t easy, but I think this confirms that under-81 kg is the right weight category for me.”
Judo Stars Bring home Bronze from Tokyo Grand Slam
Canadian judokas François Gauthier-Drapeau and Kyle Reyes claimed bronze medals on Sunday at the prestigious Tokyo Grand Slam, demonstrating their prowess on the international stage.
Gauthier-Drapeau,from Alma,quebec,secured his medal in the men’s under-81 kg category when his opponent,David Karapetyan,was unable to compete in the bronze medal bout due to a shoulder injury.
“My opponent hurt his shoulder in the match before ours,” Gauthier-Drapeau said. “to be honest, I’m very glad to accept the medal, but I would have liked to fight for it.It always feels a bit weird when you take your bows and then it’s suddenly all over. There’s something missing.”
Despite the unusual circumstances, Gauthier-Drapeau’s journey to the podium was notable. he began with a decisive victory over South Korea’s Woojin Choi, followed by a closely contested match against Japan’s Sotaro Fujiwara. Even though he lost that bout, he bounced back in the repechage, securing an overtime win against Japan’s Yoshito Hojo to advance to the bronze medal final.
Reyes, representing Brampton, Ontario, battled his way to bronze in the men’s under-100 kg category. His bronze medal match against Japan’s Koki kumasaka was a grueling affair, extending over 10 minutes.
“The bronze medal match was extremely long,” said coach Antoine Valois-Fortier. “It was very difficult physically,but [Kyle] controlled the fight well and ended up on the podium.He scored some nice points all day today by demonstrating good technique. It was a very good tournament for him.”
Earlier in the tournament, Kumasaka defeated Toronto’s Shady ElNahas, who unfortunately sustained a hand injury in the second-round match.
Reyes’s road to the bronze included a victory over South Korea’s Dohun Choi. After losing his quarterfinal match to Japan’s Dota Arai, who also secured a bronze medal, Reyes fought back in the repechage, defeating Enkhbayar Altanshagai of Mongolia.
Gauthier-Drapeau’s bronze medal comes less than a month after he claimed gold in the under-90 kg category at the Continental Cup in Montreal.
“Going down in weight after several months is always pretty tough,” he said.”I hadn’t fought in the under-81 kg division since the Olympics. It’s painful, and it wasn’t easy, but I think this confirms that under-81 kg is the right weight category for me.”