Road to Paris: GB Judo Team Progress

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

In the process of prepping next update of judo tracker I was looking ahead to the European Championships. I always check the IJF website to see who has entered and who ultimately drops out of GB team as the event gets closer.

 

The Euro champs have almost 400 competitors on the IJF website and I nearly lost my sh*t when I looked at who was supposedly on the GB team. It includes Ian Johns in the -60Kg class and Jason Parsons in the -66KG class. Ignoring the fact that Johns is listed as 44 years old - he is (or at least was) the GB Paralympic head coach whilst Parsons is the England Talent development coach.

 

Whilst this information is obviously wrong, it led me to news of a bit of internal conflict within GB judo after their first stage selection announcement was made at the end of August:

 

Statement: European Judo Championships - British Judo

 

Reading between the lines, I assume that Nekoda Smythe Davis - who had previously been announced as a reserve - has appealed against her omission from the team. Given that NSD is in a qualifying position for GB whilst Toprak is 500 points outside of the last qualifying position, it would seem to be a no-brainer to take your athletes with the best chance of qualifying. 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

4 hours ago, Rafa Maciel said:

In the process of prepping next update of judo tracker I was looking ahead to the European Championships. I always check the IJF website to see who has entered and who ultimately drops out of GB team as the event gets closer.

 

The Euro champs have almost 400 competitors on the IJF website and I nearly lost my sh*t when I looked at who was supposedly on the GB team. It includes Ian Johns in the -60Kg class and Jason Parsons in the -66KG class. Ignoring the fact that Johns is listed as 44 years old - he is (or at least was) the GB Paralympic head coach whilst Parsons is the England Talent development coach.

 

Whilst this information is obviously wrong, it led me to news of a bit of internal conflict within GB judo after their first stage selection announcement was made at the end of August:

 

Statement: European Judo Championships - British Judo

 

Reading between the lines, I assume that Nekoda Smythe Davis - who had previously been announced as a reserve - has appealed against her omission from the team. Given that NSD is in a qualifying position for GB whilst Toprak is 500 points outside of the last qualifying position, it would seem to be a no-brainer to take your athletes with the best chance of qualifying. 

Slowly but surely it's looking like GB Judo may need an intervention, notwithstanding the strong women in its pool...

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Having been dropped by GB Judo for the squad for the Europeans, Acelya Toprak has switched allegiance to  with immediate effect (and immediately jumps into a continental quota spot having been at best an also ran all season) 

 

Acelya Toprak to Transfer to Azerbaijan (britishjudo.org.uk) 

 

These kind of transfers really piss me off - I could be wrong and she could have a long ancestry of Azerbaijanis in her family - but it feels like a pretty cynical move.  Now I am really hoping that either Nairne or Smythe-Davis qualify, draw her in the first round in Paris and throw her for Ippon within the first 10 seconds of the contest. 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

8 hours ago, Rafa Maciel said:

Having been dropped by GB Judo for the squad for the Europeans, Acelya Toprak has switched allegiance to  with immediate effect (and immediately jumps into a continental quota spot having been at best an also ran all season) 

 

Acelya Toprak to Transfer to Azerbaijan (britishjudo.org.uk) 

 

These kind of transfers really piss me off - I could be wrong and she could have a long ancestry of Azerbaijanis in her family - but it feels like a pretty cynical move.  Now I am really hoping that either Nairne or Smythe-Davis qualify, draw her in the first round in Paris and throw her for Ippon within the first 10 seconds of the contest. 

Seems like there is probably a direct line between this story and the previous one : https://www.britishjudo.org.uk/statement-european-judo-championships/

 

It does seem relatively common in the combat sports, especially if there is a hint of personal grievance with a national body - Aaron Cook and Alice Schlesinger, both of whom were rathe higher up the totem poll, spring to mind - although Alice had, if I recall, a close family tie to the UK.

 

What stands out for me is not that Toprak made this move (and it does smack of a pure Aaron Cook style desperate move to get to Paris - that's understandable, you get one life, if your dream is Olympic..) but the fact there seems to be no 'stand down' period worth talking about. That's on IJF.

[Dragon 1,844]

12 hours ago, Rafa Maciel said:

Having been dropped by GB Judo for the squad for the Europeans, Acelya Toprak has switched allegiance to  with immediate effect (and immediately jumps into a continental quota spot having been at best an also ran all season) 

 

Acelya Toprak to Transfer to Azerbaijan (britishjudo.org.uk) 

 

These kind of transfers really piss me off - I could be wrong and she could have a long ancestry of Azerbaijanis in her family - but it feels like a pretty cynical move.  Now I am really hoping that either Nairne or Smythe-Davis qualify, draw her in the first round in Paris and throw her for Ippon within the first 10 seconds of the contest. 

Her family is Turkish Cypriot with no apparent links to Azerbaijan

[mpjmcevoy 362]

2 hours ago, Dragon said:

Her family is Turkish Cypriot with no apparent links to Azerbaijan

It seemed in the past like Azerbaijan and Turkey were happy enough to swap at leisure - presumably that extends to Turkish Cypriots.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

We haven't taken a look at the GB Judo team for a while - probably because the results have been pretty mediocre on the men's side - but we're heading into the final tranche of tournaments within the qualifying window:

 

Men's Team

60Kg - No prospect of quota as we don't really have an active judoka in this weight class (Sam Hall is the highest ranked Brit at 97th)

66Kg - Sam Hall has outside chance of qualifying but really needs to get some big scores at the remaining Grand Slam events. Currently ranked 52nd, he is about 1000 points short of a quota spot. Hall is competing in Tbilisi this weekend and has been given a decent draw - he will fight  Ravshan Nasriddinov in the first round with  Juan Postigos waiting in the round of 32. 

73Kg - Eric Ham is the best of the Brits at 48th in the ranking. He wont qualify in part because he doesn't compete in the big scoring events. It is a shame, because he's "only" about 800 points shy of being in contention for a continental quota.

81Kg - Lachlan Moorhead - who I regard as the most frustrating performer in the squad - is currently in a continental quota spot. He is 30th in the ranking list and just 350 or so points behind the last automatic quota spot. He is also in Tblisi this weekend and has a very winnable 1st round match against former team mate Max Stewart who now competes for . Assuming he can get through that  Timo Cavelius waits in the round of 32.

90Kg - Jamal Petgrave hasn't been competing for a while now but he is still 29th in the ranking list. He needs to find 800+ points to get to a quota spot and about 600 points to be in contention for a continental quota. In Tblisi, he has a winnable first fight against  David Aghasaryan with  Eljan Hajiyev waiting in the round of 32.

100Kg - Started off pretty strongly with both Rhys Thompson and Harry Lovell-Hewitt in the mix for quotas early on, but they seem to have fallen off the radar and are now both well off the pace in the hunt for quotas. 

+100Kg - Wesley Greenidge doesn't really compete in the big tour events so whilst he does well in some of the European Open level events, he won't be heading to Paris.

 

Women's Team

48Kg - Amy Platten has dropped off the radar so isn't in contention for quota any more.

52Kg - Chelsie Giles is a genuine medal contender having won silver at Paris Grand Slam and bronze at the Tashkent Grand Slam. She is currently sitting 4th in the Olympic rankings. 

57Kg - Our strongest weight class - Nekoda Smythe-Davis and Lele Nairn are in qualifying positions, all be it they are towards the bottom of the list. They're not competing in Tblisi so they could be overtaken this weekend and drop out of a qualifying spot.

63Kg - Lucy Renshall is our second medal prospect in Judo with silver medals in both Lisbon and Zagreb Grand Prix and a bronze in Paris Grand Slam. But she is a little inconsistent - her other 2 ranking scores for the second period are participation points. 

70Kg - Another weight class where we have 2 judoka in qualifying positions - Katie-Jemima Yeats Brown is currently ranked 19th and Kelley Peterson Pollard is 21st. As with our fighters in the 57Kg class, they are both towards the bottom of the list so still have work to do to secure a quota spot. Both are competing in Tblisi - Yeats Brown has  Ellen Froner in first round with  Gulnoza Matniyazova waiting in the round of 32. Peterson Pollard starts in the round of 32 against  Elisavet Teltsidou. 

78Kg - Again we have 2 fighters in quota spots - Emma Reid is 23rd in the ranking whilst Nathalie Powell is 26th. Reid is competing in Tblisi but would need a top 8 finish there to increase her overall score. She starts off against  Eiraima Silvestre which could be a tricky fight. Powell will start against  Iriskhon Kurbanbaeva with  Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko waiting in the round of 16. 

+78Kg - Nobody in contention in this weight - Sarah Adlington had appeared in the entry list for a few tournaments but didn't actually compete. 

 

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Wasted opportunity for Sam Hall as he loses in the first round in Tbilisi - had a pretty kind draw and could have easily picked up 260/360 points but instead he comes away with 10 points for participation. 

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Sam Hall likely to rue his poor performance in Tbilisi as he's got a horror draw in Antalya Grand Slam this weekend. Whilst he should be able to overcome  Georgios Balarjishvili, that only takes him to the round of 32 where he would be up against top seed  Hifumi Abe.

 

Lachlan Moorhead has a great chance for a top 8 finish. He's up against  Jorge Perez in round 1 with either  Mihail Latisev or  Abdelrahman Abdelghany waiting in the round of 32. If he can get through his first couple of rounds, he's drawn to face 5th seed  Verdat Albayrak in the round of 16.

 

Jamal Petgrave has a tricky draw. He's up against  Komronshokh Ustopiriyon in the first round but would then face 7th seed  Noel Van T End in the round of 32.

 

Rhys Thompson has  Laurin Boehler in the first round with  Boris Georgiev waiting in the round of 32. 

 

On the women's side, Chelsie Giles opens her competition against  Aleanny Carbonell Julian with  Jessica Pereira a possible opponent in the round of 16.

 

As the 8th seed, Nekoda Smythe Davis has been given a pretty kind draw and has great chance to get a top 8 finish. With a bye through to the round of 32, she'll start against  Yeung Nok Lam or  Bakyt Kussakbayeva. In contrast, Lele Nairne has a tricky opener against  Kseniia Galitskaia.

 

Lucy Renshall could have a tricky opener against  Yana Makretskaya.

 

Katie Jemima Yeats Brown and Kelley Peterson Pollard are both in action in the 70Kg class and neither have particularly easy draws. Yeats Brown should get passed  Ugne Pileckaite in the first round whilst Peterson Pollard has a bye to the round of 32 and will be up against  Joana Crisostomo.

 

Finally, Emma Reid is the 8th seed and has winnable opening match against  Zanet Michaelidou whilst Nathalie Powell faces  Margarita Gritsenko. 

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

Chelise Giles takes silver in the 52Kg division in Antalya 

 

Nekoda Smythe-Davis made it through to the round of 16 and nets about 150 points so probably not enough to move her up the rankings but she will stay in quota spot. 

 

Lele Nairne lost her first round match so will just get 10 participation points.

 

Sam Hall, as expected, was no match for Abe and although he picks up 120 points, it will only be a net gain of 20 points and will have limited effect on his ranking position.