World number five under 81kg judoka Euan Burton cemented his place among the sport’s elite by capturing a bronze medal at the World Masters, an all-star IJF event, in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday 16 January.

The unique two-day event features the top 16 judoka in the world in each weight category, according the International Judo Federation world rankings, which produces a field brimming with continental, world and Olympic champions.

Euan, 30, who took a bronze medal at the World Championships in October, had a bye in the first round which led to a meeting with US national champion Travis Stevens who upset reigning world champion Masahiro Takamatsu in the opening round

In previous meetings Euan had the measure of the capable American, winning both contests, and promptly registered his third win over Stevens by way of ippon.

The win saw the Scot – who trains at Judo Scotland’s National Training Centre in Ratho, Edinburgh, a recognised British Judo Performance Centre - advance to the semi-final and a showdown with Azerbaijan’s 2008 Olympic gold medallist Elnur Mammadli, who infamously won the Beijing final in 13 seconds.

The 2006 European Champion, widely regarded as one of the sport’s finest judoka, forced an ippon victory with a minute remaining in the contest which saw Burton claim a bronze medal as the star-laden event doesn’t use a repechage system.

Crowd favourite Mammadli went on to defeat 2010 world championship runner-up Leandro Guilheiro from Brazil in the final.

Burton said: ”It is good to be on the rostrum again, especially at one of the top events in the world.

“It was a very close match against Elnur Mammadli, and I felt a leg grab (illegal move). But there was a huge Azerbaijani crowd there and it wasn’t given. So I am a little disappointed as I was aiming for the full 400 points that comes with the gold medal.”

“It is a packed event, with the top judoka in the world; you really are fighting the best of the best. There is no easy draws at this event and even though you don’t get many matches, it’s a fantastic event to be a part of.”

Coach Billy Cusack said: “It was another professional display from Euan, his semi-final contest was very controversial as Mammadli used leg grabs and should have been disqualified.

“Aside from that there was a fantastic atmosphere, it was a great event and the contests were so good you wanted to see all of them.”

Euan’s training partner Sarah Adlington received a late invitation to participate in the over 78kg category and lined up against three-time Asian champion and reigning world champion Mika Sugimoto from Japan in the opening round.

Adlington lost by ippon as Sugimoto went to on take the silver medal after being overcome by compatriot and 2010 world championship bronze medallist Megumi Tachimoto in the final.

Billy said: “Sarah was unlucky with the draw and got caught against the world champion but she has the right mentality to push on and compete at that level.”

© David Finch

Euan Burton at the 2010 European Championships