Japan joins a long list of teams from across three continents that will be looking to take medals and gain valuable world ranking points for Rio 2016. Great Britain has announced a strong team of 23 women who will compete at the event, including Commonwealth medallists, Kelly Edwards, Louise Renicks, Nekoda Davis, Connie Ramsay, Steph Inglis, Jemima Yeats-Brown, Sally Conway, Megan Fletcher, Natalie Powell, Sarah Adlington and Jodie Myers.
Jemima Yeats-Brown, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, said “I think it would be great to fight against a Japanese fighter and see how I do against them. Obviously, you fight a lot of European players with all the European Cups going on, so to fight someone from Japan would be a great experience. When I was at the Commonwealth Games the crowd was amazing, it will be great to have their support for the GB team at the European Open.”
Ahead of the competition Lead Women’s Coach, Kate Howey, said: “I'm really looking forward to seeing many of our best women fighting in Glasgow. There is a mix of younger and more established players all trying to gain those valuable world ranking points for Rio and gain experience for Tokyo 2020, which seems far away but will come round quickly. As it's in Glasgow I'm sure it will be another great event.”
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Megan Fletcher, can’t wait to return to Glasgow. “It is amazing how positively judo was received by the home crowd both during and following the Games. We had such a warm welcome by Glaswegians and it will be a fantastic opportunity to compete in front of the Glasgow crowd, especially since judo has been embraced in such a positive way since the Games. I can’t wait to go back to that welcoming crowd.”
All event and ticket information can be found at www.glasgowopenjudo.com. Tickets start from £5, and concessions are available to children aged 15 and under, senior citizens and disabled spectators. For further information please contact [email protected] or please call 01509 63169501509 631695.