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GB Judoka set for Dushanbe Grand Prix
June 01, 2023
The IJF World Tour heads to Tajikistan this week for the inaugural Dushanbe Grand Prix.
With just two events left before year two Olympic qualification starts, time is running out for judoka for secure their best results for year one Paris 2024 qualification.
15 GB judoka will be in action across the three-day competition, starting on Friday.
Friday 2nd June – 06:30 am (BST) Preliminary | 13:00 Final Block
Following her 7th place finish at the Austria Grand Prix last week, Acelya Toprak (Metro JC/ Relentless Judo; Darren Hawney/ Fitzroy Davies) is back in action and joined by Lele Nairne (Bradley Stoke; Pete Douglas) in the -57kg category.
Toprak enters as 4th seed whilst Nairne is seeded 2nd. Both judoka have opening round byes before Toprak faces Maysa Pardayeva (TKM) in round two. Nairne will face either Daria Kurbonmamadova (AIN) or Nilufar Ermaganbetova (UZB) in her second-round contest.
Sam Hall (Ryecroft JC; Fitzroy Davies) returns from injury to compete in the -60kg category. Entering as 5th seed, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist will face Moritz Plafky (GER) in the opening round.
Charlie Young (Ryecroft Judokwai; Paul Young) and Michael Fryer (Rush Judo; Laurie Rush) compete in the -66kg category following their recent involvement in the Austria Grand Prix last weekend.
In the opening-round Fryer has been drawn against Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (UAE) whilst Young will face Ramazan Kodzhakov (BRN).
Amy Platten (Redbridge JC; Guy Platten) will also be in action for the second weekend in a row after competing in Austria. Competing in the -48kg category, Platten will face Shuaixia Han (CHN) in the opening round.
Saturday 3rd June – 07:30 am Preliminary | 13:00 Final Block
Following her silver medal at the Austria Grand Prix last week, Kelly Petersen-Pollard (Hardy Spicer; Fitzroy Davies) returns alongside Jemima Yeats-Brown (Ryecroft Judokwai; Ian Oliver) who competes for the first time since her 5th place finish at the recent World Championships.
Petersen-Pollard enters as the number 1 seed whilst Yeats-Brown is seeded 3rd. Both judoka have opening round byes before facing Garima Choudary (IND) and Eliza Wroblewska (POL) respectively.
In the -81kg category, Lachlan Moorhead (Sheffield JC; Matt Moorhead) enters as the number 1 seed. Following an opening round bye, Moorhead will face either David Karapetyan (AIN) or Giacomo Gamba (ITA) in round two.
Eric Ham (Glossop JC; Geoff Ham) will be in action in the -73kg category. Ham will face Dominic Rodriguez (USA) in the opening round.
Sunday 4th June – 07:30 am Preliminary | 13:00 Final Block
Following their 5th place finishes at the Austria Grand Prix, Jamal Petgrave (Westcroft Judo Club; Andy Ede) and Rhys Thompson (Enfield JC; George Hyslop) will be in action in the -90kg and -100kg categories respectively.
Petgrave is joined by Stuart McWatt (Gairoch JC; Stuart McWatt), who continues his return from injury.
Petgrave, who enters as 3rd seed, will face either Anarbek Ishenbaev (KGZ) or Eldar Allakhverdiev (AIN) in round two, following a round one bye. Meanwhile, McWatt will face Ekubzhon Nazirov (AIN) in his opening-round contest.
Thompson enters as 7th seed and is joined by Harry Lovell-Hewitt (Stroud JC; Richard Neale). Thompson has an opening-round bye, before facing either Kairatbek Sabit (KAZ) or Niiaz Bilalov (AIN) in round two. Lovell-Hewitt has been drawn against Avtar Singh (IND) in his opening-round contest.
In the -78kg category, Emma Reid (Redbridge JC; Steve Sandy) is seeded 4th and will face Darya Kasntsavaya (AIN) in round two, following an opening round bye.
You can watch all the action from the Dushanbe Grand Prix LIVE at judotv.com each day.
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