Shady El Nahas Aims to Get Back on Track After Seventh-Place Finish
Montreal, January 13, 2021 – Shady El Nahas’s day did not quite live up to his expectations at the Doha Masters Tournament in Qatar on Wednesday. The Canadian judoka finished seventh in the under-100 kg competition but plans to bounce back at his next tournament.
After disposing of Brazil’s Leonardo Goncalves and France’s Alexandre Iddir by ippon, El Nahas faced off against Azerbaijan’s Zelym Kotsoiev. A minute and 21 seconds into overtime, Kotsoiev, who is ranked 14th in the world, prevailed over the Ontarian. When the two fighters found themselves on the ground, he was able to gain a slight advantage and clinch the victory. He later went on to win the silver medal.
“I was feeling comfortable throughout the bout and I thought I had scored, but the point went to Kotsoiev,” explained El Nahas, who won a bronze medal at last October’s Budapest Grand Slam and gold at the Pan-American Championships in November.
His loss sent him to the repechage, where a lack of focus resulted in a loss by ippon to Portugal’s Jorge Fonseca, who is currently ranked third worldwide.
“It’s been a disappointing day because the guys I lost to, I’ve beaten in the past. I really felt ready for the tournament and I thought I could go all the way.”
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The 22-year-old, who is currently ranked seventh in the world in his weight class, says he will need to be more strategic in the timing of his attacks and counterattacks.
“I’m going to have to keep training hard. I’m disappointed to be going back to Canada without a medal, but that’s how it is in sports. You can’t always win. I hope to get back on track at the next tournaments,” he added.
El Nahas was the last Canadian out of a group of eight to compete at the Masters Tournament this week.
Jessica Klimkait was the only medal winner for Canada. She finished third in the under-57 kg group on Monday. On Tuesday, Quebec’s Antoine Bouchard placed fifth in the under-73 kg category.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
Information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org