Five-year-old Lea was the first student to pick up a medal when she struck gold in the 5-7 age group. Demonstrating strong technique, good grip and seemingly worry free in her demeanour throughout, lead instructor Alexis Plantard is certain it is only a matter of time before Lea secures her blue belt classification.
Her teammate Max, 10, also secured gold, demonstrating sound technique that reminded Alexis of Georgian Olympic silver medalist Varlam Liparteliani. Max also secured his orange belt with his win.
Alexis himself completed the hat-trick of golds, which he said gave him huge confidence going into upcoming competitions.
David earned a silver medal, showing a smart and strategic style which saw him attack in a variety of ways, something his opponents found difficult to manage.
Aleksandr performed admirably to win a bronze medal although he was hampered by a series of harsh penalties from the official, while Mikhail also scored a bronze and is showing improvements in every tournament he participated in.
While they did not secure medals, students Dima and Timur both fought well to secure 5th and 7th finishes respectively. It was Timur’s first event and to win four of his contests was a great achievement and no doubt a sign of things to come.
The tournament in the Chinese capital came a week after the team participated at the Hong Kong National Judo Championship on Mar 9.
While the team performed well, they were only able to secure one medal, a gold that went to Alexis who won all three of his contests in the 90kg weight class.
However, the young students had been purposefully entered by their tutor into higher age groups at the competition and thus against older and stronger opponents, although in the same weight class.
While it did not pay off medal wise on the day, it is a strategic move that Alexis believes will bear fruit in the long run.
“I want my students to develop and the only way to do this is to test themselves against older and stronger opponents,” he explained.
“It is a move that I made when I was a junior athlete. Going out of your comfort zone is the only way to build champions. They are ready for the challenge and I believe in them fully.”