Christa Deguchi once again demonstrated the extent of her talent on Saturday at the Grand Slam in Tokyo, where she fought in front of many familiar faces. At the top of her game, the world champion and current number one in the IJF rankings put on quite a show which ended with the gold medal in the under 57 kg category.
“Christa was just phenomenal today [Saturday]! She was in full control from the first to the last fight and she was never worried. It was truly a brilliant performance,” summed up coach Antoine Valois-Fortier at the end of the tournament.
After beating the British Lele Nairne in quick succession by ippon and the Japanese Ayami Takano by waza-ari, Deguchi was able to take her judo up a notch for her final four fights.
She first had a semi-final meeting with Georgian Eteri Liparteliani, eighth in the world, whom she defeated by ippon after just 34 seconds.
Deguchi then put an exclamation point on her day by using the same recipe in the grand final, where she faced Brazilian Jessica Lima. The latter could only defend herself against the numerous attacks of the Albertan who only took 55 seconds to achieve her triumph by ippon.
“I think it’s safe to say Christa was on top form today. She was particularly dominant in her last two victories and that bodes well for the rest of the season,” continued Valois-Fortier, who helped her protégé relieve the pressure at the start of the day.
Before facing Deguchi in the ultimate duel, Lima defeated Jessica Klimkait in overtime in the other semi-final of the category. The Ontarian and second in the world ranking, however, bounced back in a good way against the Israeli Timna Nelson Levy. She won by waza-ari and earned a bronze medal a few hours later.
“Jessica had a difficult draw and it was a very demanding day for her. I think the fatigue built up over the course of the fights, which partly explains her defeat against the Brazilian who seized her chance to score at the right time. On the other hand, Jessica recovered very well. It demonstrates her strength of character very well,” analyzed Valois-Fortier about the one who had to face four rivals from the world’s top-20 during this Grand Slam.
François Gauthier-Drapeau (-81 kg) had the best Canadian result of the day for men with a fifth place. The Quebecer got his tournament off to a flying start, quickly winning his first three duels by ippon to reach the semi-final.
He then had an appointment with a well-known rival, the South Korean Joonhwan Lee, who is just ahead of him in fourth place in the world rankings. The two judokas engaged in a duel worthy of the talent present on the tatami and it was ultimately Lee who had the upper hand in the score at the end of four minutes of regulation time.
Gauthier-Drapeau attempted to bounce back in a bronze final, this time against an opponent he had never encountered before, neutral individual athlete David Karapetyan. He was able to take advantage of this element to win by ippon and relegate the Canadian to fifth place.
“It’s a shame because François didn’t finish on the podium, but it remains a very good tournament for him, especially with three solid ippons at the start of the day,” Antoine Valois-Fortier insisted.
“For the rest, they were very close fights and he followed the game plan throughout the fights. Against the South Korean, everything came down to the final moments, then, in the bronze final, he was surprised by a new opponent. He had never seen him before and this experience will be beneficial to him for his next fight against him,” he added in conclusion.
Note that Quebecers Arthur Margelidon and Louis Krieber-Gagnon were also in action on Saturday.
Registered in the under 73 kg category, Margelidon concluded with a record of one victory and one loss, suffered against an eventual bronze medalist, the Georgian Giorgi Terashvili.
For his part, Krieber-Gagnon was unable to find the path to victory in the under 90 kg category, dropping the flag from the start against the Swede Marcus Nyman.
The Tokyo Grand Slam will end on Sunday with the presentation of tournaments in the remaining eight categories. Kelly Deguchi (-52 kg), Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-63 kg), Julien Frascadore (-66 kg), Shady ElNahas (-100 kg), Kyles Reyes (-100 kg) and John Jr Messe A Bessong ( 100 kg ) will take to the tatami mats for the occasion.
