Canadian judokas Beauchemin-Pinard, Deguchi win gold at Zagreb Grand Prix
The Canadian Press | Posted: July 16, 2022 8:41 PM | Last Updated: July 16, 2022
Canadians sweep under-63 kg, under-57 kg categories in the Croatian capital
Canada's Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard won the gold medal in the women's under-63 kilogram category Saturday at the Zagreb Grand Prix judo tournament, one day after compatriot Christa Deguchi won gold in the under-57-kilogram category.
The Montreal native was awarded gold after her final opponent, Colombian Anriquelis Barrios, withdrew with an injury.
Beauchemin-Pinard beat Brazil's Ketleyn Quadros in the semifinals after scoring a waza-ari a minute and 20 seconds into the bout and hanging on for the win.
The Canadian booked her place in the semis with preliminary-round wins over Joanne Van Lieshout of the Netherlands and Gankhaich Bold of Mongolia after a first-round bye.
Beauchemin-Pinard, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, rebounded after a seventh-place finish last week in Budapest, Hungary.
"It feels good to be back on the podium, especially after a tough week like last week," she said. "I wanted to put it behind me quickly and make a strong comeback.
"I knew what had gone badly last week. Today, I really wanted to perform consistently to win the gold medal."
Deguchi won gold in the under-57 kg category on Friday over Georgia's Eteri Liparteliani.
The 26-year-old from Japan, who switched to competing for Canada in 2017 due to her father's Canadian heritage, also defeated Slovakia's Kaja Kajzer in the semifinals along with Belgian Mina Libeer in the quarter-finals.