Canada’s Shady ElNahas earns silver in under-100 kg event at judo worlds

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Shady ElNahas reached the podium at the judo world championships for the first time by winning a silver medal in the under-100 kg category Thursday.

ElNahas, from Toronto, faced Azerbaijan’s Zelym Kotsoiev in the big final. The 2017 world junior champion went ahead after one minute by scoring a waza-ari and defended ElNahas’s attempts to counter.

ElNahas advanced to the big final by defeating Aaron Fara of Austria, Zelimkhan Bashaev of Bahrain and eventual bronze medallist Dota Arai of Japan before squaring off against fellow Canadian Kyle Reyes in the semifinal.

The match went into overtime where Reyes received his third penalty, enabling ElNahas to advance to the gold-medal final.

Reyes, from Toronto, fought Nikoloz Sherazadishvili of Spain for a bronze medal, but he once again picked up three penalties in a match that went to overtime.

In women’s competition, Montreal’s Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi was defeated by Tulika Maan of India in the opening bout of the over-78-kg category.

ElNahas’s silver was Canada’s third medal of the world championships. Christa Deguchi of Lethbridge, Alta., took silver and Jessica Klimkait of Whitby, Ont., earned bronze in Monday’s 57-kg event.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2024.