British Juniors Secure 3 Medals in Malaga

British juniors put on an impressive display at the Malaga Junior European Cup this past weekend, securing two silver medals and a bronze, along with several top-seven finishes.

Leading the way for British Judo were Sophie Wood (Sportif) in the -63kg category and Nicole Wood (Bishops Stortford Judo) in the -78kg category, both securing silver medals in an outstanding weekend of competition in Spain.

Sophie Wood dominated the group stage in her division, winning all three of her fights to advance to the semi-finals. There, she faced Canada’s Sara-Anne Beaudin, securing victory by Ippon to book her place in the final against Spain’s Lucia Carpio Fernandez. Despite a strong performance, she was ultimately defeated, with Fernandez scoring two waza-aris to claim gold. Nevertheless, Sophie delivered an incredible showing throughout the tournament.

Nicole Wood started her campaign in the quarter-finals, where she swiftly dispatched her Georgian opponent in just one minute with a decisive Ippon. In the semi-final, she faced Spain’s Mia Calderon Luna, scoring a waza-ari early on, followed by a Yuko, before sealing the win with another waza-ari just before the final bell. In the gold medal match, she faced a tough Polish opponent and fell just short of victory. However, it was a remarkable performance from Nicole, who earned a well-deserved silver.

Adding to Britain’s medal tally, Irakli Goginashvili (Palavani) in the -73kg category delivered a strong performance to claim bronze. He dominated his group stage and advanced to the quarter-finals, where he was narrowly defeated. However, he bounced back in the bronze medal playoff, securing victory over his Canadian opponent in Golden Score.

Beyond the podium placements, several British judoka secured top-seven finishes, reinforcing the nation’s strength at this level.

Amelia Alder (Judo Club Osaka) competed in the -52kg category and displayed great determination throughout the competition. She won her first fight in the group stages but soon found herself in the repechage. Alder fought hard to keep her podium hopes alive, securing two more victories along the way. However, it was the eventual bronze medalist who ultimately ended her medal aspirations.

In the -73kg category, Ross McWatt (Garioch Judo) triumphed in his opening three fights, but a loss in the quarterfinals sent him into the repechage. There, he faced fellow Brit Eden Heffernan, winning via Ippon in Golden Score after a tense six-minute battle. Unfortunately, in his final repechage match, McWatt was defeated by his Canadian opponent, ending his tournament.

Millie Bayliss (Bradley Stoke Judo), competing in the -63kg category, also impressed. After securing victories in her first two fights, Bayliss fought valiantly in the quarterfinals against her Canadian opponent. The match lasted for five and a half minutes, but Bayliss was narrowly defeated by Waza-ari. She went on to win her first repechage match, but her tournament came to an end shortly after.

A huge congratulations to all the British judoka who competed in Malaga!

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