Kim, Grenier and Kostrovets Clinch Opening Bouts

After two days of competition at the Cadet World Championships, Quebecers Hyeongi Kim, Melody Grenier and Valeria Kostrovets are the only three Canadians to have won at least one bout on the tatamis in Lima, Peru.

In the men’s under-60 kg category, Kim was up against Tumurbaatar Batkhishig of Mongolia in his first match of the day. The Quebecois was declared the winner when his opponent was disqualified for employing an illegal manoeuvre.

However, his day came to an end in his next bout, which he lost to Anthony Portilla of Colombia after eight minutes and 43 seconds of combat. The fight ended automatically when the Canadian received a third penalty.

“Kim’s first bout was a tough one, but he managed it well. His second match also started off well, but he ran out of energy at the end. After more than eight minutes, it came down to penalties!” explained Canadian coach Alexandre Emond.

In the same weight class, Aden Kim bowed out to Thomas Palillo of Italy in his first match of the day.

On the women’s side, Melody Grenier (-52 kg) quickly took control of her first bout, defeating Angie Estrada of Peru early in the day.

But like her compatriot Hyeongi Kim, she was halted in the second round, losing to Brazil’s Nicole Marques, who won by waza-ari.

“Melody fought well. She won her first match easily. In her second, she was caught off-guard in the first sequence for a waza-ari. As the bout progressed, she became more confident, and she put her opponent in danger a few times, but it was too little, too late. [Marques] was able to hold on to her lead,” said Emond.

Also in the under-52 kg division, Isla Diesmos was defeated by Clarisse Carillon of France in her first bout of the morning.

Also on Thursday, Valeria Kostrovets (-48 kg) clinched her first match of the day against Slovakia’s Kirstina Lili Krizova. But unfortunately for the athlete from Terrebonne, she subsequently lost to Maria Camila Bermudez of Colombia after receiving three penalties.

“Valeria’s first bout was very difficult, but she managed to throw her opponent halfway through the match, and then she held on to her lead until the end. Her second bout didn’t go as she had hoped. Her opponent was very aggressive, and she attacked several times. Valeria had trouble handling that, and she ended up losing because she received three penalties,” said Emond.

Addyson Tamura (-48 kg) and Lowan Le Bris (-66 kg) lost their first and only fights of the day.

British Columbia’s Amir Tamirbaev (-55 kg) was the only Canadian to compete ion Wednesday in Lima. He lost his first-round match to Nihad Mamishov of Azerbaijan, who later won the gold medal.

The individual competitions of the Cadet World Championships will continue until Saturday in the Peruvian capital. Tomo Di Cesare (-73 kg), Zachary Harris (-73 kg), Tristan Bourque (-81 kg), Carla Van Zyl (-57 kg) Myroslava Bondarenko (-57 kg), and Charlie Thibault (-63 kg) will hit the tatamis on Friday.