(Reported by Nawen reporter Li Wenrui)
Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard won a silver medal at the World Judo Championships on Sunday.
The 28-year-old from Montreal won a bronze medal at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics but lost to Japan’s Megumi Horikawa in the women’s 63kg final in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The results have Beauchemin-Pinard considering competing in the Paris Olympics in 2024.
“When I won the bronze medal at the Olympics, I knew I wanted to keep competing for at least a year so I could win a medal that I didn’t have, a World Championship medal,” Beauchemin-Pinard said.
“I’m happy to say I did it, I achieved my goal. It definitely makes me want to go for gold, but I’ll take it one step at a time.”
Beauchemin-Pinard quickly won her first three races by under 70 seconds on Sunday, beating Cameroon’s Audrey Jeanette Etoua Biock, Croatia’s Iva Oberan and Czech Republic’s Renata Zachova.
The Canadian, ranked third in the world at the International Judo Federation, took just over two minutes to beat France’s Manon Decht in the semifinals before facing Horikawa.
Beauchemin-Pinard started the final with a series of attacks that were repelled by their opponents.
The Canadians kept the pressure on, but Horikawa prevailed in the final seconds of four minutes of regulation time with an ippon, a decisive throw or hold, similar to a knockout in boxing or a pin in wrestling.
“Throughout the fight, I was able to stop her, but her technique worked my best at the end, when I was a little tired,” Beauchemin-Pinard said.
“It was between two high-level competitors who were pushing themselves hard. At one point, on the ground, I was close to scoring but couldn’t.
“I’m happy with my results, but right now, I’m mostly feeling the pain of failure. Silver is always a little hard to get, and it might take a few days before I feel good.”
François Gauser-Drapeau of Alma, Quebec, lost to Tajikistan’s Somon Mahmadbekov in the 81kg category on Sunday.
Montreal’s Shady El Nahas and Toronto’s Kyle Reyes will compete in the men’s 100kg on Tuesday.
