Bowles salutes his stars
FLASH HARRY: Tonbridge
Judo Club's Harry Try (right) in action at Midland Area Championships
CHRIS Bowles believes the current crop of
youngsters at Tonbridge Judo Club is the finest he has ever had.
Speaking after watching his players pick up a total of 10 medals at the Midland
Area Championships – one of the three national qualifying events – the judo
coach said his stars are exceeding all expectations."I don't think we have ever
been out in such force at a national qualifier," Bowles said. "To be honest, we
did fantastically well. From my point of view, I couldn't ask any more of them
at the moment."I am a bit of a task master, but they are all exceeding my
expectations."I think I've got the best group of kids in the country."
Leading the way at the Midland championships were Jemima Yeats-Brown and Enrico
Atkinson. Both struck gold and Bowles believes both have a huge year ahead of
them. The win for Yeats-Brown, just 15, means she is now the number one ranked
cadet in the under 63kg class and qualifies for a prestigious tournament in
Thuringer, Germany. "Moving up a weight category has been a huge weight off
Jemima's shoulders," Bowles said. "She had to work really hard to stay at under
57kg, but moving up has given her a new lease of life. She's tearing girls to
pieces in that category. "Jemima has got it all to play for this year."She could
end up going to the cadet Europeans, the junior Europeans, the cadet Worlds and
the junior Worlds. "They are four major tournaments she could end up going to."
Bowles added: "Enrico (still an under 14) has now won the Nationals and the
Midland without conceding a point, I think. Beyond any doubt, he is a star of
the future. He's possibly one of the most talented I have ever trained."
BEST OF THE BEST: Tonbridge
Judo Club's Enrico Atkinson salutes the crowd after winning gold at the Midland
Area Championships
Other medallists at the Midland Area Championships included: silver: Andrew
Panayi; bronze: Amber Boulderstone, Zoe Boulderstone, Louis Richardson, Chris
Ling, Michael Musker, Zak Farrence, Ben Urban; fifth: James Draper, Justin
Macklin, Aaron Turner, Harry Try, Scarlett English; seventh: Ryan Cottom, Tommy
Chambers and James Sparks.
This week, a group of judo players have been on a national training in Paris –
among world and Olympic stars. That is the kind of company they are keeping at
present.
Article from Tonbridge Courier
