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Norfolk judoka Colin
Oates come to the fore on the opening day of the World Championships
in Paris as he produced a career-best fifth-place finish.
The European Championship
bronze medallist received a bye and so started his tournament
in the second round by impressively dispatching the teak-tough
five-time World Cup medallist Pawel Zagrodnik of Poland by yuko.
The in-form Oates then
swept past Alex Amoako from Ghana with a strangle to square off
in the next round against Igor Soroca from Moldova who had won
his three previous contests by ippon.
A fantastic performance
from Oates saw him capture victory by ippon after posting a yuko
early on.
Colin Oates defeats Igor Soroca by ippon
© Mike Varey
In the quarter-final
the Norfolk judoka took on Leandro Cunha, the world number seven
and 2010 world silver medallist. Oates fell victim to an uchi-mata
as Cunha progressed to the semi-final and Oates entered the repechage.
A clash with David Larose
of hosts France saw Oates edge out the home judoka by a yuko and
secure a place in the bronze medal contest.
Oates took on IJF Rio
Grand Slam winner Musa Mogushkov from Russia and lost out by ippon
courtesy of a sumi-gaeshi to finish a strong fifth-place at the
world showcase.
"It is my best
ever World Championships, so I guess I have to be happy with that,"
Oates told Press Association Sport.
"I wanted to turn up today, but am still gutted about the
way I lost that final fight."
Oates added: "I am really pushing on now and there is more
in me, so it is a really good position to be in now.
"London 2012 is always in the back of my mind, but I try
to keep it there as you can get carried away with the Olympic
Games.
"There are some big tournaments ahead, so I have to stay
focused on that."
Craig Fallon returned
to the world stage against three-time national senior champion
Martin Ivanov from Bulgaria. Fallon scored a waza-ari after 30
seconds and looked in control of the contest before a clash of
heads saw the Brit receive medical treatment for a cut above his
right eye and he resumed the fight wearing a head bandage. Despite
a strong start Fallon lost out by ippon.
Fallon said: "The
fight was a bit strange, I expected something different from him,
I felt I should have won, but make a mistake when I was in control.”
European u23 Champion
Ashley McKenzie opened his campaign against Kang Ho Song from
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and sealed his route
to the second round by a waza-ari.
The Londoner then took
on Brent Law of Malta and showcased his attacking arsenal by registering
a yuko and waza-ari on the scoreboard before claiming victory
by ippon with a thunderous drop seoi nage.
McKenzie then met world
number four and former junior world champion Hirofumi Yamamoto
of Japan. The pair shared shido’s before Yamamoto sealed his progression
by a yuko and waza-ari.
Ashley McKenzie said:
"This year I won two fights, and hopefully next year at the
Olympics I can do more to get to the semi-finals and then spirit
can take me on from there."
Ashley McKenzie against world number four Hirofumi Yamamoto
© Mike Varey
Also in the -60kg category,
James Millar faced Manolis Savvidis of Greece in the second round
after both judoka received a first round bye. Millar edged his
game opponent by a yuko.
The Scottish judoka
followed up with victory against Tobias Englmaier of Germany by
yuko. As the contest looked destined for golden score, Millar
caught Englmaier with a leg sweep to book a meeting with world
number two and reigning European Champion Georgii Zantaraia from
Ukraine. Despite a bold effort from Millar, Zantaraia took the
win by ippon and went on to take the bronze medal.
Great Britain Head Coach
Patrick Roux said: "One year ago Colin never delivered a
result at that level. He is getting more confident and sharp.
"Around each elite player who are now on track for the Olympics
we have a small staff working together, which is why we are able
to fast track the development - to bring a player from almost
nowhere in the international concept to a bronze medal fight in
the world championships, that is something difficult."
On Wednesday, Danny
Williams (-73kg), Sophie Cox (-52kg) and Gemma Howell (-57kg)
take to the mat in Paris.
An official IJF stream
will be available here
from 8am GMT.
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