Four of our ‘A’ class players took part in yesterday’s Capital Cup in London. This was once again a top class event, split over two days, with the ‘A’ class players yesterday and ‘B’ and ‘C’ classes today. The tournament attracted not only some of the best players from the UK but a fair number from Europe – so great learning experience for our players who are just developing to this level of event.
First up was Mujahid Baksh playing for the first time at this standard having missed the last tournament through injury. First round of his quarter final was very even and finish all square at 0-0, in the second Mujahid picked up a few points and was close with a couple of head shots, but towards the end of the round was caught by a couple of head shots from his opponent. Really good effort first time out at this level.
Immediately after this was Alex Stock. Alex had merged up a division so was playing above his weight. This was a tough and very closely fought quarter final but Alex had managed to extract a narrow lead by the middle of the second round. Unfortunately he then sustained an injury from a knee to the leg and despite treatment was unable to continue. Had Alex not been injured it looked very likely he would have gone on to win and as his opponent later took the silver medal this was another good showing from Alex and indication of the continued improvement.
Amy continued her unlikely string of drawing top class opponents, indeed excelled this time! In her semi final after lunch she drew Bodine Schoemakers from the Netherlands, who is ranked number 3 in Europe and who has medalled at all of the European A Class Open’s this year! Amy played with determination and came within a few cms of landing two head shots. Her spirit was excellent but she was playing one of Europe’s best so this was a chance to learn and try to get the best from the match. Amy is progressing well and her bronze medal is a reward for a spirited match.
Last up was Neo playing the final of the -37kg Cadet division. This was a really fast match against a strong opponent from Liverpool. Both girls played their hearts out for the full three rounds with no drop in pace but unfortunately the experience of the Liverpool player won out in the end. However Neo should be proud of her silver medal.
Well done to all of you. Progress was obvious. We will be focusing now on developing from this experience working on speed, reach and footwork in the Sport Class over the coming weeks. Details of the next tournaments will be available soon. So if you are interested come along to the Sport Class and also think about participating in the Master Eric Rose Memorial Event on the 19th May.