GB Judoka get ready to do battle in Dusseldorf

Six judoka will be in action at the IJF world tour Grand Prix that takes place in Germany from tomorrow until Sunday 23 February 2014 – the third international event in the diary for a British Judo team in as many weeks.

On the first day, Nekoda Davis (-57kg) and Colin Oates (-66kg) will be in action in the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Dusseldorf.

Nekoda said: “This is my first Grand Prix so I know it will be a tough one. I am feeling positive and hoping I can deliver some of my best judo regardless of the result.”

Meanwhile, Sally Conway, fresh from her recent bronze success in Rome, will return to the tatami on Saturday alongside Tom Reed (-81kg). Natalie Powell (-78kg) and Ben Fletcher (-100kg) will be in action on the Sunday, with Natalie Powell hungry for another Grand Prix medal to add to her collection, as she prepares fresh from silver success in Rome last weekend.

Meanwhile, Sarah Adlington (+78kg) was due to fly out with the team but will stay at home after picking up an injury in the Paris Grand Slam. Ashley McKenzie was also forced to withdraw from the competition due to injury. However, the under 60kg judoka will be attending the camp to train for the European Open in Prague next month, where he hopes to make a comeback.

Performance Director Nigel Donohue said: “We are now halfway through a big competition block. We had the Paris Grand Slam two weeks ago and won two medals at last weekend’s women’s European Open, and then the Grand Prix coming up in Dusseldorf this weekend with Czech and Poland in March.

“Our aim is to get at least five players ranked for the World Masters and we expect to get some decent results in the coming weeks.”

The women’s team picked up a silver and bronze medal at the recent Rome Open.

Nigel Donohue added: “It is good for the players to get some great competitions under their belt, while we had no medals to show for it, we are fighting on a world class level, shown in the fact that Oates beat World Champion Sobirov for the second time in Paris and Adlington beat the Olympic champion Ortiz too in Paris.

“The players are performing their best judo against the top players in the world.

“Paris was one competition in a block of 20 or so tournaments – there are lots more to come and we hope to learn from these lessons and move forward.”

Words by Donna Richardson. Images Mike Varey.

The Low Down:

The competition will be streamed live at www.ippon.tv with British Judo providing regular updates through Twitter, Facebook and www.britishjudo.org.uk. 

Friday 21 February

Women: -48kg, -52kg, -57kg Men: -60kg, -66kg 

Action begins at 09:00 GMT (10:00 CET) for preliminaries over three mats and the final block on mat one at 16:00 (17:00 CET).

Saturday 22 February

Women: -63kg, -70 kg Men: -73kg, -81kg

Action begins at 09:00 GMT (10:00 CET) for preliminaries over three mats and the final block on mat one at 16:00 (17:00 CET).

Sunday 23 February

Women: -78kg, +78 kg Men: -90kg, -100kg, +100kg

Action begins at 09:00 GMT (10:00 CET) for preliminaries over three mats with the final block on mat one at 16:00 (17:00 CET).

Monday 24 February

Dusseldorf Training Camp