Tower Hamlets Judo bag 3 medals at London International Championships

By Mariusz Bajda

Four players from Tower Hamlets Judo Club attended the much coveted London International Open Championship on the 2-3 June 2012. The competition was part of the International Combat Sports Show. Two days of non-stop competitive action, organised, run and executed to the highest standards, set in a genuine 2012 Olympic venue with over 12 big events across 24 matted areas. Over 3000 competitors (of which over 400 were judo players) tried their best to win the London International Champion Title.

Leonardo De Moura Muniz competed in the Boys U16 - 60kg. Leonardo as an England Cadet Squad member was a favourite to win U16 age group and he did not disappoint. Leo won all four matches scoring Ippon (winning before time) and took the gold medal. The final contest was against a very strong opponent. Recently Leonardo lost to him at The British Championships but high levels of concentration and determination lead Leonardo to the victory.

Abdelaziz Zahmoul won the gold medal in Group 3 Boys U14 - 81kg . Abdel is a very promising player and after winning two bouts he took first place in his weight division. It is an incredible start to a fledgling Judo career. Abdel only took up judo four months ago but he trains very hard and is making a excellent progress. We can't wait for his next performance which will be at the London Youth Games in two weeks time.

Islem Thameur fought in the U16 - 66kg category and secured a silver medal for all his hard work. He had four very tough matches were he showed a tremendous amount of strength and determination to get through to the final. Barring a split second loss of concentration he would have taken the gold medal but a superb effort even still.

Tower Hamlets College student, Ernest Turkeev, also competed on Saturday. He had two very tough contests and unfortunately the opposition was better on the day. Ernest can take a lot of positives from his performance for future competition.