18th - 24th June 2007
(Scroll down for the full report)
The 9th World Masters Judo Championships took place at the Ibirapuera Sports Complex in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Because of the distance and time involved, there were fewer British players represented although Solihull Judo Club was able to field some of it stalwarts who came back with well earned medals. Roland Newsom fought in his weight category under 81 kg winning some fights but came outside medal positions.
Martin Bullus, spending his holiday in South America, jetted in for his fights on the day, retiring back to his holiday location having had a few good bouts!
Joyce Malley (u. 63 kg) entered her ninth World Masters, faced with the challenge of defending the title she has held for eight years. She fought well defeating all her opponents until she came up against Fatima Belhoni de Camargo from Brazil in the final. Joyce attacked consistently but the decision went against her and she had to concede the title, coming away with silver. She also got bronze in the Open event.
Sue Cosnett (u. 63 kg) managed to get down to her weight this year having gone up a category in the previous year. She had some tough opposition from the two Brazilian fighters who secured gold and silver. Sue, along with Kim Tilley, won bronze.
Well done girls for keeping up the British medal tally!
Both Stan Cantrill (u.73 kg) and John Cole (u. 81 kg) associated with Solihull won bronze in their respective categories. They did particularly well as they were the only British medal winners in the whole of their respective age categories.
Clive Douglas's (u. 90 kg) last minute decision to enter the tournament certainly paid off as he came away with bronze in the Open event.
Focus on Clive Douglas:
In his own weight category u. 90 kg (M5) he had four fights, winning his first fight against a Russian player in golden time- he thinks perhaps not the best way to conserve energy! He lost against a French player, being disqualified for pistol gripping. He had the chance to fight for the bronze but lost against a Romanian, again through golden score. Clive does have to do things the hard way!
He entered the Open event and felt that this time everything came together for him. Although he lost his first fight against a Brazilian, he won the next four. He despatched a Romanian player with ko-uchi for ippon in the first few seconds of the fight. He beat a Turkish and Brazilian player both by wazari, the first one with his devastating ko-soto-kaki and the second with a pick up technique. He came up against a Scottish heavy weight fighting for bronze and managed to secure the medal. The event was won by Igor Chickkanov (Russia) who had previously achieved silver in his own weight. It is notable that Clive was the only British player to gain a medal in any of the open male categories.
Well done, Clive!
Clive enjoyed the tournament immensely. He felt that despite the initial organisational difficulties encountered by event organisers, it was a strong tournament and the standard was very high. There simply weren't any easy fights! The number of entries was down compared to previous years and the absence of many European players was notable. He was impressed with the large arena and the continuous use of six mat areas to speed things through.
San Paolo itself could be seen as an intimidating place through its sheer size, but he enjoyed travelling around in the city, enjoying hospitality and the excellent local cuisine! As with other world masters events, it has given him the opportunity to visit new places and form new friendships.
Clive's ambition is to win a World Masters gold in the future. As he is such a consistent player both nationally and on the international scene, we think he is certainly in with a good chance. Come on Clive, we will be cheering for you in Belgium next year!
