Arun Southcoast Judo Club Sensei 'extremely proud' after medal-winning performances

Sensei James Bond and seven other judokas (judo players) from ASJC attended and participated in the event with more than 120 other competitors. The primary judokas (under 10s) opened the competition and Phoebe Peck (U34kg) was ASJC’s first competitor on the mat. Peck fought brilliantly to win Gold in her category and set the tone for a wonderful day. Next up was Ryan Cornford who just went into the U34kg group. Cornford, in his first competition, fought superbly and won Bronze, however he was unlucky to lose out on the Silver late on. Then came Charlie Oakford and Sam Ridley who were both in the U44kg category but in separate pools. SEE ALSO Arun South Coast seal medal haul in London | Judo students’ behaviour impresses Worthing mayor | Golden success for judo brothersAgain, this was their first competition and they performed amazingly to secure Bronze medals under extremely tough circumstances. The matches were not without a touch of controversy and in one of Oakford’s bouts, against the eventual winner, the referee missed what appeared to some of us to be an illegal throw which could have resulted in Charlie gaining a Silver. Next up it was the turn of the juniors and Feodors Bulovs was representing ASJC in the U63kg category. This was also Feodor’s first competition however he showed no nerves and won Gold with two fantastic fights. Lastly it was the turn of the seniors and Joe Gilbey and Iain Peck from ASJC fought in the U70kg and Over 70kg categories respectively. It had been 3 years since Joe had last entered a competition but it was as if he had never been away and he won Silver with two Tani otoshi (side sacrifice) throws. Iain was entering his first competition for a number of years, he fought well and was awarded a bronze medal. Sensei James Bond commented that he was ‘extremely proud’ of all the ASJC judokas who had demonstrated their determination and skills in a tough competitive environment. ASJC are looking forward to the next competition in the new year. ASJC runs a number of judo sessions in East Preston (Monday), Angmering (Tuesday) and Littlehampton (Saturday) for all ages. All are welcome and the first three sessions are free. For more information please go to their website at www.asjc.co.uk