Judo – World Junior Championships
Judo – World Junior Championships
Montreal, October 26, 2015 (Sportcom) – For Martin Rygielski, the World Junior Championships lasted a mere 53 seconds, the time it took French Messie Katanga to defeat Rygielski in his first and only Over 100 kg match this Monday, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Ajax, Ontario’s athlete, 22nd in the world, succumbed to Katanga, ranked 6th, who quickly brought the match to an end with a waza-ari and an ippon. Rygielski fell short of the expectations.
“It was a short day for Martin,” said Canadian coach Jean-Pierre Cantin. “His opponent had an advantage, both in terms of weight and strength. He’s definitely not strong enough.”
None of the eight Canadians competing at the Junior Champs this weekend were able to make it to the semi-finals or win a medal. But the competition was an opportunity for the coach to identify the judokas’ weaknesses.
“There is still a lot of work to do before our juniors can make it to the podium“, said the coach, analyzing the athletes’ individual performances. “One of the major aspects that we need to work on, in order to be able to apply technique, is strength and power.”
This Tuesday, Canada’s first opponent in the team championships will be Belarus. The coach hopes to start out the day on a positive note with the help of Darren Elcock (Under 66 kg), Patrick Cantin (Under 73 kg), Olivier Gobeil-St-amand (Under 81 kg), Louis Krieber Gagnon (Under 90 kg) and Martin Rygielski (Over 90 kg).
-30-
Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
Information: 514-990-0966 | 1-866-990-0966
