In his own words, François Gauthier-Drapeau is having a start to the season that meets his expectations, and even beyond. With a convincing performance that recently won him bronze at the Malaga Open (Spain), the Quebecer did it again, Saturday, by obtaining the first podium of his career in Grand Slam near Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Canadian judoka proved uncompromising in his bronze final, where he faced Moldovan Dorin Gotonoaga. Determined to get on the podium, Gauthier-Drapeau proved his intentions from the start of hostilities by stepping up attacks.
His efforts paid off in the third minute of the bout, when he scored a waza-ari to take the lead. He then relied on cunning and patience to run out the remaining time and ultimately win the bronze medal.
“Right now, I can’t be happier than that! I had high goals at the start of the season and managed not only to meet them, but to exceed them. I’ve wanted a Grand Slam medal for a long time and it’s done, ”said Gauthier-Drapeau, who smiled broadly as he left the tatami mat.
It’s rare that I celebrate victories, but there, I had a hard time preventing myself. I really realized that I had just won the fight and accomplished another long-standing goal. This is where I see that all the hard work and training over the last few years pays off.
Francois Gauthier-Drapeau
The triumph put an exclamation mark on a successful day for the Montrealer who ended with a record of four wins and a setback. He started his journey by winning his first three duels, before fighting a whole battle against Turkish Vedat Albayrak in the semi-final.
Extra time was even necessary to determine the winner and it was Albayrak, European champion of the category and eighth in the standings of the International Judo Federation (IJF), who had the upper hand by winning by ippon.
The latter reserved the same treatment for the Croatian Dominik Druzeta in the grand final to take top honors in the competition.
“I knew he [Albayrak] was very strong! It was very tight and it was going well, but I ran out of energy a bit. A bit like during my last defeats, he surprised me when I tried to counter him, ”analyzed the one who has learned several lessons from this confrontation.
“It was a pretty risky maneuver, but there’s a lot of positives to take from it. Until that precise moment in the fight, no one could have said which of the two of us was ranked higher. I know where I made my mistakes and I plan to work on that to make sure I win these fights in the future. ”
The coach of the national judo team, Sasha Mehmedovic, agreed with his protégé who has continued his meteoric progress since the start of the current campaign.
“François fought very well today [samedi] and this first Grand Slam medal is more than deserved. He has shown great skills and has proven that he can compete with the best in the world in his class. I am proud of his performance, ”he commented at the end of the day.
Short exit for Demaere
The outcome turned out to be more difficult for Joel Demaere, who could not find the way to victory on Friday in the under 60 kg category.
The Alberta judoka was shown the exit door in his first fight against Mongolian Sumiyabazar Enkhtaivan, winner by waza-ari. He then continued on his way to finish fifth in the tournament.
The Baku Grand Slam concludes on Sunday, with the presentation of activities in the five remaining divisions. Keagan Young will compete in the under 90 kgs competition, while Ian Ryder and Shady Elnahas will be in the under 100 kg tournament.
