CHARIS Hancocks was celebrating a great start to the judo season after claiming a bronze medal at the UK School Games.

The Samurai ladies lightweight (pictured), from Wolverly High School, threw her first two opponents, the Scottish and Irish number one players, for maximum points in rapid time and so qualified at the top of her pool.

She looked favourite to win the gold medal, but in the semi-final against the Welsh number one, she was slightly slow at one point getting a grip and was thrown for maximum points whilst she was focused on securing that grip.

The Samurai club are holding a series of competitions in the autumn, including another weekend at Glades Leisure Centre on November 12 and November 13, with juniors on the Saturday and adults and veterans on the Sunday. Their flagship event, the Bev Price Teams, is at Walsall Campus on November 27.

Kate Walker is on the road to recovery after a second operation on her shoulder. She hopes to be back in action at the Scottish Senior Open in October in preparation for the European Under 23 Championships in Russia in November. Meanwhile Sarah Biles is currently training at Dartford with the British Olympic Squad, in preparation for her toughest event to date, the Junior European Championships next month in Belgium.