Montréal, February 8, 2025 – Laurence Biron and Daniil Kremerman were the only two Canadians to win a match on Saturday at the Ljubljana European Open in Slovenia. However, both were eliminated in their second rounds.
In the under-63 kg weight category, Biron fought two lengthy battles in the Slovenian capital. Her first-round bout against Switzerland’s Olivia Gertsch went into overtime, where the Québécoise prevailed when her opponent received a third penalty.
In her next round, she was up against Brigitta Varga of Hungary. Once again, extra time was required to decide the match. One minute into overtime, Biron, who already had two penalties, was caught off-guard by Varga, who scored a yuko to secure the win.
“Laurence had two long fights today. She’s just getting back from an injury, so she hasn’t competed in a tournament since last June. She didn’t do badly at all. Against the Hungarian, it ended on a pretty equivocal point, but for a comeback, she did very well. It’s encouraging,” said Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard.
“The yuko is a new score that was just recently introduced. It’s lower than a waza-ari, and you can score an unlimited number of them during regulation time, but they can allow you to win after four minutes. And of course, they can put an end to overtime, which is what happened in Laurence’s match,” explained Bouchard.
Although today’s results didn’t quite meet her expectations, Biron said she is heartened by her comeback, which appears to be going smoothly following a serious injury that left her with two of the three hamstring tendons in her left leg completely torn.
“I’m focusing on the positive. After my injury, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to compete again. So in that sense, it’s a huge relief. I felt really good and strong, and even though both my bouts went into overtime, I was able to keep my wits about me. I’ve still got my senses and my mental bearings,” said Biron.
Also in the women’s competition, Coralie Godbout (-78 kg), who received a first-round bye, bowed out to Kaila Issoufi of France after receiving three penalties in her first match of the day.
On the men’s side, Daniil Kremerman (-66 kg) defeated Italy’s Ciro De Luca before facing Spain’s Adrian Nieto Chinarro in the next round. With his opponent in complete control, Kremerman was penalized three times in the first two minutes of the bout, conceding victory to Nieto Chinarro.
“Daniil’s first fight was very close, but he managed to win with two yukos. Unfortunately, in his second bout, he received three penalties. He wasn’t able to adjust to his opponent, who launched numerous attacks. But he’s here to gain experience, and this will help him in the future,” said Bouchard.
In the same weight division, Luka Tsatsalashvili lost his first and only bout to David Ickes of Germany.
Tylor Collin (-60 kg) met a similar fate to that of Coralie Godbout, bowing out in the second round after receiving a bye at the beginning of the day. He lost to Roie Rosen of Israel.
In the under-73 kg bracket, Félix Mercier-Ross, Frédéric De Cardaillac, and Yanis Hachemi lost their first and only bouts of the day.
The Ljubljana European Open will continue on Sunday. On the men’s side, Arthur Margelidon, Keagan Young, David Popovici, and Olivier Gagnon will be in action in the under-81 kg category, while Guillaume Gaulin competes in the under-90 kg group. Marie-Lune Turmel (-48 kg), Heidi Quach (-48 kg), Evelyn Beaton (-52 kg), and Kelly Deguchi (-57 kg) will hit the tatamis in the women’s competition.
Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
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