The Canadian judoka started the under 52 kg tournament with a tough fight against Romania’s Luciana Catana. The Albertan won by ippon in overtime.
Deguchi, 32nd in the world, went on to defeat Spain’s Paula Lanza Chacoris, Hungary’s Roza Gyertyas and finished the tournament beating Italy’s Kenya Perna with a spectacular ippon in the final.
His trainer Janusz Pawlowski underlined the excellent work of his protege, but also the intensity of the fights.
It’s been a roller coaster ride, admitted the coach. Kelly had a rough start to the competition and she lost a good lead in the semi-finals, but she still came through well. She’ll need to improve her tactics and pick up the pace faster, but she’s definitely not far from something. After all, she is the one who finishes with the gold medal.
On Sunday, Quebecers Coralie Godbout and Alexandre Arencibia will be in action respectively in the under 78 kg and under 90 kg categories.
