Team Bath Judo Club’s Megan Fletcher collected more valuable Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification points as she finished seventh at the Qingdao Grand Prix in China.
After her gold-medal success in Australia the previous week, Fletcher got off to a confident start in the under-70kg weight division as she beat Georgia’s Esther Stam by yuko.
However, a single penalty against Fletcher proved decisive in a tight quarter-final as she was edged out by South Korea’s Seongyeon Kim and the Commonwealth champion was then beaten in the repechage by Katarzyna Klys of Poland.
Fletcher tweeted: “Not a medal but it is closer every time. More points and positives feelings for Korea #Progress”
University of Bath biomechanics PhD student Jan Gosiewski – fresh from winning U73kg bronze in Australia – was handed a tough draw in China and was beaten in the first round by Russia’s Denis Iartcev, ranked eighth in the world.
Business administration graduate Tom Reed missed the Oceania Open through illness but was well enough to return to action in China.
He was handed a bye in the first round when opponent Wentao Zheng of China was disqualified from the tournament but then lost by ippon to Sergiu Toma of the United Arab Emirates.
The judo action now moves to South Korea, where Fletcher and team-mate Emmanuel Nartey will compete in the Jeju Grand Prix this week.
Courtesy of: Bath Chronicle