Canadian Shady El Nahas captures silver in men's 100kg judo at Baku Grand Slam
Competition was Toronto native's 1st since finishing 5th at Tokyo Olympics
Toronto's Shady El Nahas captured a silver medal in the men's 100-kilogram class Sunday at the Baku Grand Slam judo event.
The competition was El Nahas's first since finishing fifth at the Tokyo Olympics in July.
The 23-year-old began the event with consecutive wins to meet Russia"s Niiaz Bilalov in the final. After neither competitor was able to register a point, the match went into overtime before Bilalov cemented the gold medal with an ippon.
"In the end, he was able to trap me and win the match. For me, the result is a bit of a letdown because I came here to win gold, and nothing less."
But national team coach Sasha Mehmedovic was pleased with El Nahas' finish.
"It was a good opportunity for him to test himself after the Olympics, and he came very close to winning," Mehmedovic said. "After a few more competitions, he'll be back in peak shape, and I have no doubt we'll see him on top of the podium very soon."
Ian Ryder of Richmond, B.C, (under 100-kilograms) and Keagan Young of Markham, Ont., (under 90-kilograms) both dropped their opening matches.
