Canadian judoka Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard topped the competition in the under 63 kilograms category and won gold at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
In the final, Beauchemin-Pinard quickly took the advantage of her duel against the Chinese Jing Tang. After a little more than two minutes of fighting, the Quebecer put an exclamation point on her day by throwing her opponent to the ground with a ura nage.
“My last competitions had not lived up to my expectations. This result is really good for morale. It’s nice to know I’m still in the game! I wanted to finish in style, I knew this fight was accessible. Before the duel, I told myself that I was going to give everything and that I was not going to give him a chance,” said Beauchemin-Pinard.
Her last Grand Slam victory dates back to last February when she won the final in Tel Aviv.
Earlier in the day, the 29-year-old enjoyed a first-round bye before defeating Frenchwoman Gaëtane Deberdt in her first clash of the day. Beauchemin-Pinard then secured her place in the final four by winning decisively against Austrian Magdalena Krssakova.
She finally qualified for the final thanks to her victory in the semi-final against Lubjana Piovesana, also from Austria.
“I think my mental preparation made a big difference. I moved forward through the day one fight at a time without thinking too far ahead. I was really staying in the moment,” explained the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist.
In action in the under 81 kg table, François Gauthier-Drapeau was limited to a single fight in Abu Dhabi after admitting defeat against Uzbek Nurbek Murtozoev.
On Thursday, Louis Krieber-Gagnon (-90 kg), Shady ElNahas (-100 kg) and Kyle Reyes (-100 kg) will be the three Canadians in action on the final day of activity at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam.
