It was a day of success for the female GB Judo squad competing in the Antalya Grand Prix this weekend.

Following on from Bekky Livesey’s bronze medal yesterday, Lubjana Piovesana (-63kg) and Gemma Howell (-70kg) both claimed bronze medals to give GB Judo a third bronze medal from the weekend.

It was an all-British affair in the fight for bronze in the -63kg category as Piovesana was able to defeat compatriot Amy Livesey. It was a very closely fought contest between the pair and one that could have gone either way. It was Livesey however, that picked up three shidos following persistent pressure from Piovesana.

Lubjana Piovesana secured an impressive early victory over the World No.53, Rotem Shor (ISR) who had previously had a best placed finish for 5th at this years Prague European Open. The World Junior No.1 for her weight category, had won silver at the Thuringia International Open in Germany so had demonstrated good form in recent weeks. It was a fast paced opening to the contest which saw both judoka looking to take the initiative and take control of the grip. The early pressure inserted by Piovesana resulted in Shor picking up a shido. Piovesana was then able to capitalise on hesitancy to throw for ippon and a place in the 2nd round.

She was able to take an early lead against Katharina Haecker but unfortunately, Haecker was able to control the grip
in the middle stages of the contest and subsequently threw Piovesana from her hips. This dropped her into the repechage where she would take on Russia’s Olga Kruikova. This would prove to be a long contest with a third minute of Golden Score needed to separate the fighters. Piovesana went all out in GS and forced the pressure by controlling the grip and as a result, Kruikova picked up a shido and confirmed Piovesana’s place in the bronze medal contest against Livesey.

Howell started the day in fine form with a quickfire victory over home favourite Mihriban Oner from Turkey is a contest that lasted just over 60 seconds. She was able to score with an early waza-ari to alleviate any scoreboard pressure and within 30 seconds she was able to make a fine transition into newaza to secure the ippon via count-out. The second round progressed as an almost carbon copy of the first as Howell came up against Emilie Sook for a place in the Quarter Finals. Another fight, another early ippon victory!

The quarter finals seemed to sap all of Howell’s energy, as the contest went to a fourth minute of Golden Score. It was unfortunate for Howell as she picked up a debatable shido to drop into the repechage. Another contest followed in the afternoon, and again, it went to Golden Score with Howell scoring superbly with a waza-ari. It was a 2nd consecutive eight minute contest but she kept her concentration to secure the win.
Amy Livesey was looking for an improvement on her 7th place in Tbilisi. She was immediately onto the front foot in the first round against Inbal Shemesh (ISR) and scored two quick waza-ari to give herself some breathing space. Moment later, Livesey was able to secure the ippon victory when Shemesh submitted following Livesey’s arm lock.

Livesey’s Quarter Final against Mungunchimeg Baldorj (MON) was a fascinating contest as the 22 year old already has a GP medal to her name (Ulaanbaatar – 2016). Livesey was straight into the attack as part of a frantic first 60 seconds of action.

Livesey came up against inspired Austrian World No.3 Kathrin Unterwurzacher, who has been in fine form this season. Two waza-aris were enough to account for Livesey. It looked like she might have recorded a score early in the contest, only for the referee to wave it away. This confirmed the all-British affair in the fight for bronze.

Ebony Drysdale-Daley received a bye in the first round of -70kg competition but found herself drawn against top seeded, World No.3 Elvismar Rodriguez from Venezuela. Rodriguez was able to use her experience throughout the contest as Drysdale-Daley received three shidos and was disqualified. A waza-ari was awarded thanks to clever improvisation from Livesey, which could have been more. She was able to watch the clock down to progress to the semi finals.