DUNFERMLINE judoka Emma Forrest continued her consistent start to the season by picking up an impressive bronze medal in a national contest.

The 16-year-old, who competes for Destination Judo Club, was in action at the Scottish Cadet Judo Open for competitors under the age of 18 in Paisley.

Dunfermline High School pupil Forrest followed a cadet girls under-57kg class silver at the British Judo Championships in December with a final place at the Welsh Open ahead of this event.

Her latest medal-winning achievement helped consolidate her top-four ranking in a very competitive class and it began with an ippon victory over Grimsby Judo Club’s Emma Levinson.

Forrest broke her opponent’s balance with dominant grips before sweeping her to the mat with a well-executed tai otoshi throw to end the fight.

Another straightforward victory over Sportif JC’s Robyn Mackay followed before she faced a semi-final clash with long-term rival Leah Grosvenor, of Samurai JC. The English athlete continued her sequence of wins over Forrest, throwing her for wazari and finishing the fight with an armlock, which forced her to tap out.

The defeat set Forrest up for a shot at revenge against Rush JC’s Hannah Niven – who had beaten her in the bronze medal match at the Scottish Junior Open.

Forrest got her own back in style, reversing that result with a big ippon victory only 30 seconds into the bout by flipping her English opponent onto her back with a textbook uchi mata throw.

The tournament provided excellent preparation for Forrest’s return to European Cup action this weekend, when she will fly to Fuengirola in Spain to represent Judo Scotland in the first major international Cadet tournament of the season, which will also be a chance to earn world ranking points.