Davis started off the day in fine form as after a couple of kumi-kata exchanged she threw her opponent, Ivelina ILIEVA (BUL). After a bit of a break she was back on the mat, this time to face Shushana HEVONDIAN (UKR) for a spot in the top 16. Within the first minute Davis threw herself in for a right sided ouch-gari which caused the Ukrainian to land fully on her back for Ippon score. 

 

The quarter-finals saw Davis facing Olympic and World bronze medallist, Automne PAVIA (FRA). Davis started off the contest with great pressure and the French fighter had to work hard to overcome the Brit’s profound kumi-kata work. It was not until a slight gap found in ne-waza by the French that the British fighter got in danger. This little gap was enough for Pavia to pin down her opponent for the full 20 seconds and take the contest. Pavia would finish on the podium in bronze medal position.

 

Speaking after the fight Davis said: “I felt on my best form today. I felt like I was capable of taking a medal but it wasn’t meant to be so I will take all the experience I have gained from this World Championships and work on improving my skills to become a world champion one day.”

 

“Nekoda fought really well today and showed some lovely judo throwing twice for Ippon. She is fighting without fear and is getting better and better. She gained valuable Rio points today and looking at her rate of improvement Rio is looking bright and she will mix in with and beat the best players in the world”, concluded GB Elite Performance coach, Kate Howey. 

 

Tomorrow the tournament will begin at 06:00am (GMT) and we will see 2015 Dusseldorf Grand Prix winner, Alice SCHLESINGER as she takes on all the challenges of the -63kg category. You can watch all the action LIVE and FREE on Ippon.tv