Australia’s cadet and junior teams take to the mat in Hong Kong this Sunday and Monday in what’s hoped to be a successful reprise of excellent results in Macau last weekend.
Don’t miss any of the action: The Hong Kong Cadet and Junior Cups on August 18 and 19 will be livestreamed on You Tube via the Judo Union of Asia.
The stakes are high for our touring team with seven golds, seven silvers and 17 bronze medals in the bag after Macau.
It's not all about the medals, but they are certainly a welcome reminder of all the hard work Australia's largest ever youth team has put in, says Maria Pekli, Judo Australia's Head of Performance and Pathways, but more importantly, Team Manager and Head Coach on this tour.
"It is such an important thing to be able to introduce our young athletes to international competition, to get them used to the standard and the protocols and the way we conduct ourselves on the mat and at international training camps," Maria explains.
"We love to see the medals, but the work they do, they growth they show is what makes me proudest."
Gold medallists for Australia in last Saturday’s Macau Cadet Asian Cup included Brisbane sisters Rika and Rio Hirose of Ohori Judo Club in their respective divisions, Cadet Women U48s and U52s; Aaron Xu of Budokan Judo Club in Sydney in the Cadet Men U60kg division, Mackenzie Cook of Tiger Do, NSW, in the Cadet Women U63, Hannah McHenry of Judo International, WA, in the Cadet Women U70kg, and in the Cadet Men U81kg, Akos Kelly of Melbourne’s Resilience Training Centre.
Other Cadet (U18) medallists include:
· CW U48kg: silver to Maelie Tournier of Judo International, WA
· CM U50kg: bronze to Kaan Hucent of The JiuJitsu Studio, NT
· CM U60kg: bronze to Max Pogreb of Taketani Judo Academy, VIC
· CMU66kg: silver to Angus Cormack of Taketani Judo Academy, VIC, bronze to Ryan Park of Illawarra International Judo Club, NSW.
· CW +70kg: silver to Ashlee Charles, Isshindokan Judo Club, QLD
· CM U73kg: bronze to Nikola Dobric, Budokan Judo Club, NSW
· CM U81kg: bronze to Caspar De Largie D’Alton, UNSW Judo Club, NSW
· CM +90kg: silver to David Bayarsaikhan, Resilience Training Centre, VIC
In the Macau Junior Asian Cup on Sunday, cadet Rika Hirose won Australia’s only gold of the day with her second gold medal of the competition, this time in the Junior Womens U48kg.
Other Junior (U21) medallists at the Macau Asian Cup included:
· JW U48kg: bronze to Maelie Tournier of Judo International, WA
· JW U52kg: bronze to Rio Hirose of Ohori Judo Club, QLD
· JWU57kg: bronze to Bella Nolan of Mackay Kodokan Judo Club, QLD, and bronze to Olivia Knights of SouthWest Judo Academy, WA
· JWU63kg: silver to Estela Hogarth of UWA Judo Club in WA; and bronze to Mackenzie Cook of Tiger Do, NSW.
· JMU66kg: bronze to Ryan Park of Illawarra International Judo Club, NSW, and bronze to Timeo Tournier of Judo International, WA
· JWU70kg: bronze to Hannah McHenry of Judo International, WA, bronze to Taylah Hayes of Kokoro Judo Club, TAS.
· JM U73kg: bronze to Thomas Cramp of Beyond Grappling Judo Club, ACT
· JWU78kg: bronze to Alannah Joyce, Darwin Judo Club, NT
· JM U81kg: silver to Keishin Ochi, UniWA, WA, bronze to Akos Kelly of Resilience Training Centre, VIC,
· JM U100kg: silver to Axel Nightingale of Traralgon Judo Club, VIC
Pictured: Maelie Tournier takes silver and Rika Hirose her first gold of the weekend, winning the Cadet Women's U48kg in the Macau Cadet Asian Cup.
Click for full results from the Macau Cadet Asian Cup and Macau Junior Asian Cup.
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