Flying the flag: From left to right Tonbridge Judo Club members James Sparks, Enrico Atkinson,

Michael Musker, James Martin and Paul Crouch

 Tonbridge Judo Club has gained further success at international level, following the recent Finnish Open in Helsinki when a four-strong squad achieved triple silver, and at national level at last weekend’s Heart of England Championships where club members won a further three medals.

 James Martin, from Mascalls School, Paul Crouch, from Uplands Community College and James Sparks, from Hayesbrook School, traveled to Finland with coach Chris Bowles for the five day training camp and competition for youth and cadet players held in Helsinki. 

There the boys, all aged 14, beat off tough competition from Russia, Estonia, Georgia and Scandinavian countries to each gain a silver medal. Bowles said it was fantastic preparation for the Heart of England Championships which were held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Sunday. 

Tonbridge Judo Club sent a five-strong squad to this event, which is the national qualifier for the British Squad.  First to enter the arena was Enrico Atkinson, 10, of St Augustine’s School, who won a bronze medal fighting in the A Band at under 38kg. Despite being the youngest in his group, Atkinson won his first three fights convincingly and narrowly lost in the semi finals before winning the final fight for third place.

 Bowles, a former Olympian and British Open champion, said Atkinson had the potential to become a future British champion. 

Michael Musker, 12, of Sevenoaks School, was fighting in the B Band under 55kg and put in a “stunning” performance to reach the semi finals where, leading by a seven point score, he was disqualified for an attempted technique which the referee considered technically unsafe.  This left Musker with a battle for third place and the bronze medal which he secured with the maximum score of ippon.

 Paul Crouch, recently returned from Finland, won a bronze medal in the under 46kg C Band category after battling unsuccessfully against a determined Russian competitor in the semi final. 

James Sparks was fighting in the notoriously difficult under 50kg C band and on this occasion lost to a well-established national competitor. This put Sparks into the repechage where he fought his way back to seventh place.

 Luke Marchant, 16, just missed out on a bronze medal in the under 81kg D Band category where he came up against the Welsh national champion putting him into fourth place.

 Bowles commented: “I am very optimistic about the squad of players reproducing top form to come together for the National Championships in mid October.” 

Absent from the Heart of England competition was James Martin who was unable to compete due to international commitments in Italy. He was attending a training camp for the British Squad held at the Olympic training centre in Lugano and is one of a selected group of players who are being groomed for next year’s European cadet championships.

Three Silvers brought back from Finnish Training camp !

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