Jasmine Hacker-Jones (-52kg) claims bronze for GB Judo at the Kaunas Junior European Cup in Lithuania.

Since moving up from the Cadet age group in 2018, Hacker-Jones, who is based at the Sport Wales National Centre as part of the Talent Cyrmu Programme, has gone from strength to strength, wasting no time in making her way onto the podium.

While Lithuania’s Vaidile Slapkauskaite may have held a home advantage going into the fight, was no match for Hacker-Jones, who kicked off the competition with a straight victory in round one.

The second round proved more of a challenge as Hacker-Jones faced Cypriote Sofia Asvesta.  The close match saw 10 minutes pass before the two could separated, with Hacker-Jones showing both strength and determination to win by ippon score.  Hacker-Jones met with Serbia’s Nadezda Petrovic in the quarter final, which saw the Welsh judoka defeated by a waza-ari after a close and hard-fought match.

Not one to stay down for long, Hacker-Jones went into repechage round 2 and 3 to defeat Poland’s Iga Sienkiewicz and Turkey’s Beyza Ozdemir by ippon score.  In her final fight of the tournament, Hacker-Jones defeated Dutch judoka Rachel Van De Meeberg by ippon score to claim bronze.

This was the 18-year-old judoka’s first medal of what looks set to be many at European Junior Cup level.