By Canadian Press

Canadian judoka Christa Deguchi takes gold at Baku Judo Grand Slam

Nov 4, 2022 | 12:22 PM

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Canada’s Christa Deguchi won gold in the women’s under-57-kilogram competition Friday at the Baku Judo Grand Slam.

Deguchi defeated Portugal’s Telma Monteiro in overtime in the grand final match.

With the 2019 world champion fighting aggressively, Monteiro received a third penalty for non-combativeness, giving Deguchi the winning point.

Deguchi opened with a win over Hungary’s Kitti Kovacs on Friday before beating Italy’s Veronica Toniolo and Britain’s Lele Nairne in overtime to earn a spot in the final bout.

It’s Deguchi’s third gold medal of the year after winning the Grand Prix in Zagreb, Croatia, in July, and taking gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, a few short weeks later.

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“It’s been a long time since I’ve won a Grand Slam medal, but I got myself there today,” said Deguchi, a native of Nagano, Japan, who holds Canadian citizenship through her father. “It was a tough day, but I kept my focus until the very end. I’m very happy with my performance.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2022.

The Canadian Press