Canada finished the Commonwealth by winning two gold medals in the men’s division in Coventry. This happened with an all-Canadian duel in the U100kg final, where Shady El Nahas got the better of teammate Kyle Reyes to win gold. In the +100kg division, Marc Deschênes won decisively in under a minute. As a result of the above bouts, Canada is taking home three medals after the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games judo tournament.
Shady El Nahas and Kyle Reyes both had a perfect lead-ups in the tournament, which meant that gold in the Under 100 kg category would be an all-Canadian affair. The tactical duel of the two left-dominant judokas was ultimately won by El Nahas.
“It’s a disadvantage to fight against someone who knows me so well – I can’t surprise him,” noted gold-medallist Shady EI Nahas.
“I managed to get some good grips, but I should have attacked faster, before he avoids my grip,” explained Kyle Reyes.
Fighting without a coach, the two Canadians weren’t able to benefit from Antoine Valois-Fortier’s valuable insight and coaching during the bout. “My brother Mohab (El Nahas) was in the stands; he knows my judo well, and he was there for me. His advice helped me to adapt my moves” revealed Shady El Nahas.
In the semi-final, Harry Lovell-Hewitt (ENG) faced Shady El Nahas where he lost out on the chance to fight for gold, but was still in contention for a bronze medal. Harry Lovell-Hewitt’s bronze medal contest which was a strong and measured fight with Lovell-Hewitt being awarded the bronze medal after his opponent was handed three shidos.
