Aminata Sall and Olia Berger just miss the judo podium

Two Canadian judoka came within one step of climbing on the podium at the Fukuoka International tournament, which ended Sunday in Japan. Aminata Sall (52 kg) and Olia Berger (open category) lost in a bronze medal bout, in their respective weight class.

Sall, from Varennes, lost her first fight by submission against an opponent from China. She managed to win in the draft over a judoka from Slovenia, before taking down an adversary from Japan. However, Sall suffered a shoulder injury and will return to Canada this week.

After a quick first round exit in the 78 kg weight class, Berger just missed the podium in the open category. Like Hall, she managed to win two of her four bouts to finish in fifth place.

In the 48 kg category, Isabel. Latulippe, from Saint-Hubert, lost by submission to a more experienced Korean opponent in the first round. Her tournament ended there, since she wasn’t selected for the draft.

Despite the fact the Canadian team didn’t win a medal, head coach Jean-Pierre Cantin takes a look at this tournament in a positive matter.

« Even if we expected better competition, it was a good tournament with a lot of Europeans. It’s a tournament we’ll have to attend in the next couple of years. The Chinese delegation was very strong and it will be important to know them more before the next Olympic Games, » he said.