Cambridge University Judo Club sent several representatives to the 2012 British Universities and College Sports (BUCS) Championship at Sheffield. Here’s a summary of the day’s performances:
Ndollo Eboumbou put on a sterling display and achieved a bronze medal in the women’s O78 Dan grade division at BUCS 2012. In a competitive group that included two international players, she put in some solid performances and earned a place on the podium.
Men’s Captain Toby Schmidutz fought in the Men’s U73kg Dan grade division and won a couple of fights in under a minute. He made it to the knockout stages but lost his fight after aggravating his injury.
Women’s Captain Megan Sorensen won a couple of her fights and qualified for the knockout stages of her competitive Women’s U70kg Dan Grade Division, only to narrowly miss out on a semi final place.
Defending Champion of the Men’s Dan Grade U81kg Kane Chandler swept his pool aside swiftly in the first half of the day and looked set for a podium finish again. However, in the Quarterfinals, he faced a tough opponent that narrowly beat him after a full match of intense fighting.
In the Kyu grade categories, Liang Wu finished top of his pool in the U66kg division, notably destroying his opponents with a huge Ippon Seoinage and Sumi Gaeshi. Just as he looked to be a real threat for a podium finish he lost to a tough Georgian opponent.
Rob Blackburn also competed in the U66kg division and was unfortunate not to get past the pool stages. Andrew Tam fought in the U73kg division but fought to a deadlock with all his opponents and did not make it to the knockout stages. However, they left with greater determination for next year’s competitions.
Overall, well done to all who fought, especially to Ndollo who brought home a medal! This is the last major event of the academic year: Special congratulations to all who fought in competitions throughout the year and won medals, as well as everyone who trained and competed in the Varsity Match! Thanks to phenomenal coaching from Alec and Nick!
– Andrew Tam