Home Nation Judoka set for Commonwealth Games
Coventry Area plays host to the judo competition at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Starting on Monday and running across three days, judoka from England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland make up 38 of the 161 competitors vying to be crowned Commonwealth champion.
Judo makes a welcome return to the Commonwealth Games programme having last appeared at the Games in 2014 with three returning home-nation champions.
Monday 1st
-60kg
Ashley McKenzie will be looking to defend the title that he won in 2014. Seeded 3rd, McKenzie’s main competition could come in the form of Team England teammate Sam Hall, who enters as the number one seed.
Dylan Munro and David Ferguson compete for Scotland whilst Callum Bennett and Dan Rabbitt will fight for Wales.
Hall has an opening-round bye and will face I Solomon in Round 2.
Rabbitt will face Zeo Agudoo (GHA) in Round 1 with the winner facing Ferguson who has an opening-round bye.
Bennett will face Thomas Mwenda (TAN) in the opening round whilst McKenzie and Munro also have opening-round byes. Munro will face Wimukthi Premarathna (SRI).
-66kg
At the age of 34, Gregg Varey makes his Commonwealth Games debut. The Welshman has already announced that this will be his final year in the sport after taking up a full-time coaching position at Team Bath.
Varey will be joined by Scotland’s Alexander Short who is seeded 4th and Northern Ireland’s Nathon Burns who enters as 3rd seed. Callum Nash (Northern Ireland) and Finlay Allan (Scotland) are also in action.
Nash will face Georgios Balarjishvili (CYP) whilst Short faces Austin Chikwapula (MAW).
Varey has an opening round contest against Bismark Yartey (GHA) with Allan facing Mauro Nassone (MOZ). Burns has an opening-round contest against Patrick Edwin (NGR).
-48kg
England’s Amy Platten is seeded 3rd. Platten recently completed her university studies at Nottingham University, graduating with a 1st in Neuroscience.
Platten will be joined by Welsh judoka Ashleigh Barnikel.
Platten will face Katryna Esposito (MLT) in the opening round.
-52kg
Coventry Judo Club’s Yasmin Javadian will compete under the flag of Northern Ireland for the first time.
The number 6 seed will be joined by Kirsty March and 2014 Commonwealth Games -48kg champion Kimberley Renicks.
Marsh will face Mariel Kalomor (VAN) whilst Renicks faces Sofia Asvesta (CYP) in the opening round.
Javadian has an opening-round bye and will face Charne Griesel (RSA) in the Quarter-Finals.
-57kg
Second seed Acelya Toprak and fifth seed Lele Nairne lead the England charge whilst 7th seed, Malin Wilson will compete for Scotland.
Wilson will face Kamini-Sri Segaran (MAS) in the opening round with the winner progressing to face Toprakwho has an opening-round bye.
Nairne also has an opening round bye before facing Donne Dreytenbach (RSA).
Tuesday 2nd
-63kg
Current European Champion, Gemma Howell is seeded third in -63kg category behind world number three Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard and world number 11, Katharina Haecker (AUS). The Midland judoka is one of three local judoka in action on day 2.
Jasmin Hacker-Jones will compete for Wales and is seeded 6th.
Howell and Hacker-Jones both have opening round byes before facing each other in the Quarter-Finals.
-70kg
England’s Kelly Petersen-Pollard and Jemima Yeats-Brown lead the -70kg entries, seeded 1st and 3rdrespectively. Yeats-Brown won bronze in Glasgow in the -63kg category after receiving a late call-up following an injury to Caroline Kinnane.
Northern Ireland’s Rachael Hawkes is seeded 4th.
Hawkes has an opening round contest against Ebony Drysdale-Daley (JAM) with the winner progressing to face Petersen-Pollard in the Quarter-Final, who has an opening round bye.
Yeats-Brown will face Shanice Takayawa (FIJ) in the opening round.
-73kg
England’s Daniel Powell is seeded 2nd and will be joined by 4th seed Joshua Green from Northern Ireland and Scotland’s Billy Rodman.
Powell has an opening-round contest against Andrew Munnins (BAH) whilst Rodman will face Jake Bensted (AUS). Green meanwhile has a Round 1 contest against Jelanie Boyce (TTO)
-81kg
England’s Lachlan Moorhead is seeded 2nd whilst Northern Ireland’s Eoin Fleming is seeded 4th.
Moorhead will face Fatai Muritala (NGR) whilst Fleming faces Odysseas Georgakis (CYP).
Wednesday 3rd
-78kg
Wales and England lead the entries with defending champion Natalie Powell and Emma Reid.
Powell jumped ahead of Reid in the world rankings following her recent gold medal at the Zagreb Grand Prix.
The pair will be joined by Scotland’s Rachel Tytler who is seeded 7th.
Powell faces F Agathe (MRI) in the opening round whilst Reid and Tytler have been drawn against each other in the Quarter-Finals.
+78kg
Scotland’s Sarah Adlington will be looking to defend the title she won in 2014 in front of a home crowd in Glasgow. She enters as the number 1 seed following her recent gold medal at the Winterthur European Cup. She will be joined by Northern Ireland’s Sarah Hawkes who is seeded 4th.
Adlington has an opening-round bye and will open her account in the Quarter-Final stage.
Hawkes also has an opening round bye and will face Abigail Paduch (AUS) in the Quarter-Finals.
-90kg
England’s Jamal Petgrave is seeded 3rd and will face Marius Metois (VAN) in the opening round.
-100kg
Harry Lovell-Hewitt and Rhys Thompson compete for England in the -100kg category. The pair are seeded 5th and 6th respectively.
Lovell-Hewitt has been drawn against Victor Ahiavor (GHA) in the opening round whilst Thompson faces Isaac Bezzina (MLT).
+100kg
Andrew McWatt was a late addition to the Scotland team following an injury to defending champion Chris Sherrington. The youngster is seeded 4th.
McWatt has an opening round bye and will face Liam Park (AUS) in the Quarter-Finals.
Watch the Preliminary Rounds live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer from 10:00 am and Final Block from 17:00.
View the full draw here
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