Montréal, March 1, 2025 – At the Junior European Cup in Málaga, Spain, on Saturday, Canadians Catherine Toshkov and Sara-Anne Beaudin advanced to the two bronze medal finals in the under-63 kg weight division.
In her quest to capture the medal, Toshkov needed only nine seconds to dispatch of her final opponent, Maria Dias of Portugal. It was the 19-year-old judoka’s first career podium finish at a Junior Continental Cup, and her first competition in her new weight class. She formerly fought in the under-57 kg category.
The Québécoise had a strong start to her day, winning her first two bouts to advance to the quarter-finals, where she faced Millie Bayliss of Great Britain. That marathon match went into overtime, where Toshkov, despite having received two penalties, nevertheless triumphed by waza-ari.
However, in the semi-finals, she bowed out to Lucia Carpio Fernandez of Spain, who later won the gold medal. Toshkov therefore moved on to one of the bronze medal finals.
“Catherine was excellent today, especially considering that it was her first competition in the under-63 kg weight category. I got the impression that during the semi-final, she lost her focus for a few moments, but before that, she had completely dominated the bout. She has adjusted well to her new weight class, and I think her future looks bright,” said Canadian coach Sasha Mehmedovic.
Beaudin, who had defeated Dias in her first clash of the day, followed up with a second-round win against Maia Bidzinashvili of Georgia. However, after losing to Great Britain’s Sophie Wood in the semi-finals, the Québécoise faced a second defeat against Lihi Boaron of Israel, who won the bronze medal by ippon. Wood went on to secure the category’s silver medal.
“It was Sara-Anne’s first international competition, and she really showed her potential today. She dominated her first two fights, and in the semi-final and the bronze medal final, I think it was her opponents’ experience that made the difference. We’re proud of what we saw from her today,” said Mehmedovic.
In the women’s under-78 kg tournament, Abigail Smith was halted in her first and only bout of the day.
Fahd Fithane (-73 kg) obtained Canada’s best result of the day in the men’s competition, finishing fifth after bowing out to Irakli Goginashvili of Great Britain in overtime in one of the bronze medal finals.
Fithane had begun his day with two consecutive victories, before losing to Georgia’s Gigi Giunashvili in the quarter-finals. In the repechage, the Québécois soldiered on, dispatching of Lithuania’s Deividas Jovsa and Great Britain’s Ross McWatt to claim his spot in the bronze medal match.
“Fahd was great today, but I really would have liked to see him on the podium. In his final fight, he was leading with a waza-ari, but his opponent managed to come from behind and take the lead. Nevertheless, he had a great day,” said the coach.
Luke Thompson (-66 kg) was the only other Canadian male to win a bout on Saturday in Málaga. He defeated Khaled Alkandari of Kuwait before bowing out to Franciszek Kozlik of Poland.
Muhammad Turajev (-60 kg), Dylan De Jesus (-66 kg), Daniil Kremerman (-66 kg), and Alexis Kearney (-66 kg) all lost their first and only fights of the day.
The action will continue on Sunday in Málaga, where Yehor Paladii (-100 kg), Angelina McCristall (-48 kg), Valeria Kostrovets (-52 kg), Hayden Thibeault (-57 kg), and Carla Van Zyl (-57 kg) will hit the tatamis for Canada.
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For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org