Double Bronze for Great Britain at IBSA World Cup Tbilisi 2026
March 26, 2026
Great Britain’s VI Judo team secured two bronze medals and two fifth-place finishes at the 2026 IBSA World Cup Tbilisi, marking an excellent result at one of the final events before Paralympic qualification begins in July.
Evan Molloy (Devizes JC) began his competition against Ikramov (UZB) in a tough contest, but one he controlled from the very start. A well-executed ko-soto-gake for ippon saw him progress confidently into the semi-final, where he faced current World Champion Kulmurza (KAZ).
The semi-final started positively for Molloy, who scored yuko with a sharp seoi-nage. However, his opponent responded strongly, scoring before applying effective ne-waza to take the contest. Molloy moved into the bronze medal match to face Bareikis (LTU), his opponent from the 2025 World Championships bronze medal contest.
After a strong start from the Lithuanian, who scored early, Molloy raised the tempo. He turned the contest in his favour, eventually applying a strangle to secure victory and claim the bronze medal.
Dan Powell (Ryecroft JC) came into the event as one of the favourites and showed his quality in the opening round against Safak (TUR). Powell dominated throughout, winning by waza-ari, with the Turkish athlete unable to mount an attack.
In his next contest, Powell faced Selivanov (NPA), whom he had previously beaten. Powell started well, forcing his opponent onto two shidos. However, a small error allowed Selivanov to counter for waza-ari, a score Powell was unable to recover.
In the bronze medal match, Powell faced another familiar opponent in Cimciler (TUR). Once again, Powell controlled the contest and eventually secured ippon with a well-worked piece of ne-waza to take the bronze medal.
Kirsten Taylor (Tayside JC) and Evie Gormley (Stewart JA) both narrowly missed out on bronze medals but showed great fighting spirit. Gormley delivered a particularly strong performance, taking the lead and coming close to finishing with a juji-gatame against the World No.1 from Brazil.
Head Paralympic Coach Ian Johns said about the team’s performance, “To have all four fighters in medal matches is a real positive for the program. I am really proud of the team—they gave everything, and I can only ask that.
“Some real moments of learning and glimpses of what the team can achieve! Next up for the team will be the opening Paralympic Qualifier for the LA 2028 Games, which will be in Brazil in July.
“We will rest for a short time before we start to prepare to begin qualification with a bang!”
Congratulations to the team on another successful competition!
