Top seven finish for Schlesinger in Paris

Four British judoka stepped onto the mat in the prestigious Bercy-Paris Stadium during day one of the Paris Grand Slam on Saturday 17 October. At the end of the day a seventh place was earned by Alice SCHLESINGER in the -63kg category.

The British judoka started off the day with strong performances defeating both Corina CAPRIORIU (ROU) and Mia HERMANSSON (SWE). This booked Schlesinger into the quarter-final where eventual silver medalist Juul FRANSSEN (NED) held the early earned single penalty difference right until the end which sent the British fighter back to the repechage zone.

The repechage contest brought a re-match of the Tashkent Grand Prix which took place two weeks ago. That time it was a semi-final battle against Edwidge GWEND (ITA). Schlesinger was up for revenge, however the Italian scored early and managed to end the contest with a piece of ne-waza work, which meant a seventh place at the end for Schlesinger.

“I am pleased with Alice’s performance after not having the best performance and results in Astana and then she moved onto Uzbekistan two weeks later where she still wasn’t at her best, where as today I think she was in better form and everything is looking good for Abu-Dhabi, Korea and Japan towards the end of the year.

“She is still coming back from her hamstring injury yet she still gained 80 points towards the Olympic qualification. Pleased with the performance but obviously disappointed that it wasn’t a medal at the end of the day“, concluded Elite Performance coach, Kate Howey.

Both, Ashley MCKENZIE (-60kg) and Nekoda DAVIS (-57kg) bowed out in the early stages, whilst Colin OATES (-66kg) won his first contest against Bence ZAMBORI (HUN) before suffering a defeat from Portuguese judoka, Sergiu OLEINIC.

The second and final day of the tournament will see the following athletes in action: Sally CONWAY (-70kg), Natalie POWELL and Gemma GIBBONS (-78kg), Sarah ADLINGTON (+78kg) and Ben FLETCHER (-100kg). The tournament will begin 08:00 (GMT). WATCH LIVE and FREE via ippon.tv