Montréal, February 16, 2025 – Guillaume Gaulin set some lofty targets for himself in Tunis, and after he captured the silver medal within the under-90 kg class on Sunday, it’s protected to say he achieved them.
Picture : African Judo Union
Guillaume Gaulin (on the left facet)
After profitable his first three matches on the ultimate day of the event, Gaulin discovered himself up towards Amir Abbas Choopan of Iran within the massive remaining. Nonetheless, the judoka from Quebec struggled to adapt to his left-handed opponent’s model and misplaced the match by ippon following thirty seconds of fight.
“I believe Guillaume needs he may have a do-over, to be able to make the required changes,” stated coach Antoine Bouchard, following the competitors. “They had been fairly well-matched as opponents, however we didn’t know a lot about him, so Guillaume was caught off-guard. It’s unlucky, however general, Guillaume carried out properly.”
To start his day on Sunday, Gaulin acquired a first-round bye. He then ousted Sayfiddin Boymirzoev of Tajikistan, Mariano Coto Bersier of Argentina, and Sid Ali Benaboura of Algeria to advance to the massive remaining.
In keeping with Bouchard, Gaulin was well-prepared for the event, and had made the changes he wanted to be able to enhance upon his seventh-place end in Slovenia final week.
“Guillaume made all the fitting changes, and he actually dominated his first three bouts. He was strong, as had been his assaults, and he made some nice throws. It was a beneficial expertise for him,” analyzed Bouchard. At present’s medal was Gaulin’s third at a Continental Open.
Additionally on Sunday, David Popovici and Olivier Gagnon competed within the under-81 kg class.
After dispatching of Algeria’s Anis Boumediene Kada within the first spherical, Popovici was defeated by Italy’s Vincenzo Pelligra, who later received the gold medal. Nonetheless, the Canadian pulled himself again up within the repechage, edging out Morocco’s Amine Yassif to advance to one of many two bronze medal finals, the place he in the end suffered a heartbreaking loss to Tajikistan’s Ilhomiddin Jabborov. He completed the day in fifth place.
“David tried a bit too laborious,” admitted Bouchard. “He made an error within the warmth of battle and misplaced his likelihood at that remaining win. It’s disappointing for him, however he nonetheless had an excellent day general.”
As for Gagnon, his day got here to a fast finish when he misplaced his first and solely bout to Elyas Parhizgar of Iran, who later received the class’s silver medal.
Yesterday, Marie-Lune Turmel received 4 bouts to say the crown within the under-48 kg weight class, whereas Laurence Biron secured the under-63 kg silver medal after profitable three matches.
“Marie-Lune made good use of her experience in flooring work, and he or she remained calm and funky all through. Though she fell behind twice, she by no means panicked, and that’s what allowed her to win the gold. As for Laurence, she would have appreciated to do higher in her remaining bout, however she needs to be happy with her efficiency. Each ladies had a fantastic two weeks on this journey,” stated Bouchard.
Canada due to this fact concludes the Tunis Open with three podium finishes and, much more importantly, extra expertise that may permit the athletes to progress ever additional.
“For us, the variety of medals isn’t an important factor. General, we had some nice outcomes, in addition to some much less nice ones, however many of the athletes demonstrated that they’re at a excessive sufficient degree to be right here, and that they’ve the potential to go even additional,” concluded the coach.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For extra data:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Working Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org
