Yanis Hachemi Second in Marrakesh
Montréal, June 2, 2024 – Precisely one week after he defended his title of Canadian champion within the over-100 kg weight class, John Jr. Messé A Bessong was intent on attaining an identical end result on the Junior European Cup in Graz, Austria. Nonetheless, his successful streak got here to an finish on Sunday within the large ultimate, in opposition to a well-recognized opponent: Kanan Nasibov of Azerbaijan.
Photograph : Judo Canada
John Jr Messé A Bessong
As was additionally the case of their final two matches, Nasibov prevailed on penalties, this time after two minutes of fight.
“That loss within the ultimate was a troublesome tablet to swallow. Nasibov is aware of John’s weak factors, and he at all times finds a means to make use of them to his benefit. The 2 of them know one another nicely, and so they’ve fought one another usually, however John has by no means crushed him. It’s irritating for him,” mentioned nationwide coach Sasha Mehmedovic, following the match.
Messé A Bessong, who was well-prepared for the match, bought off to a superb begin by making a number of assaults, though he didn’t reach scoring any factors. Nonetheless, issues soured for the Québécois when he acquired a shido, and he was by no means in a position to absolutely get well. He needed to concede defeat a couple of moments later, after making two additional errors.
“Early on, John caught to his recreation plan nicely and dominated the match, particularly together with his grip,” defined the coach. “Sadly, after he acquired his first penalty, he misplaced his focus, and his opponent took benefit of that.”
Earlier within the day, Messé A Bessong had defeated Tunahan Tutar of Turkey, Maor Klein of Israel, and Saba Kardava of Georgia by ippon in back-to-back bouts to advance to the large ultimate in his class.
“The loss was unlucky, however we witnessed some nice progress in his judo right now [Sunday]. It’s very encouraging, and he’s nonetheless studying. He’ll undoubtedly encounter that opponent once more quickly, presumably even on the World Juniors, and he’ll be even higher ready subsequent time,” added Mehmedovic.
Heidi Quach, the one different Canadian to rank on Sunday, completed seventh within the under-48 kg division. Following an preliminary loss to Mitsuki Kondo of Japan, who later received the gold medal, she bounced again within the repechage, throwing her opponent Mariana Nunes of Brazil to clinch the win.
Nonetheless, her day got here to an finish only a few moments later, when Szabina Szeleczki of Hungary defeated her by ippon. Szeleczki went on to win a bronze medal.
“Heidi had a troublesome draw right now! However this stuff occur. She did nicely, regardless of every part. She recovered nicely after shedding to [Kondo], and she or he fought nicely in opposition to the Hungarian. Like John, she’ll must study to deal with the strain of preventing that type of opponent, however she’ll come out of this higher outfitted for the following time,” concluded Mehmedovic.
Additionally within the under-48 kg class, Marie-Lune Turmel completed the day with a 0-2 file. Inara Bardai (-57 kg), Ryan Belal (+100 kg), and Yury Semenuyk (-81 kg) have been all eradicated within the first spherical, as was Luke Thompson within the under-66 kg class on Saturday.
Evelyn Beaton completed the match with a file of 1 win and two losses within the under-52 kg division.
Yanis Hachemi shines in Marrakesh
Like his teammate Messé A Bessong, Yanis Hachemi additionally made his mark on the weekend, taking second place on the African Open in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The Canadian senior under-73 kg champion posted three fast wins right now, together with two by waza-ari, to advance to the large ultimate, the place he confronted Benjamin Axus of France.
Axus put an finish to the Québécois’ successful streak, nevertheless, when he scored an ippon within the ultimate minute of regulation time. This was the Hachemi’s second silver medal at a Continental Open. He additionally completed second in Santiago, Chile, in June 2023.
The 21-year-old will now head to Spain, the place he’ll compete within the European Open in Madrid subsequent weekend. Laurence Biron (-63 kg), Tylor Collin (- 60 kg), Olivier Gagnon (-73 kg), David Popovici (-81 kg), and Mohab ElNahas (-90 kg) can even participate within the two-day match.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For extra data:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Working Officer
Judo Canada
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p.esparbes@judocanada.org