IT WAS a case of ‘same again’ for Dunfermline Destination Judo Club’s elite junior judoka as Emma Forrest took her third British ranking bronze medal in a row while Kirsty Marsh clocked up a third consecutive seventh place at the North West Open in St Helens last weekend.

In the pre-cadet (under-15) under-48 kilo weight class, Forrest (left) qualified from her pool to make the semi-finals, the highlight being a superb win over English pre-cadet squad member Katie John, of Parkwood Junior Club, Kent.

Forrest typically took the fight to her opponent and was rewarded when an improvised harai goshi into uchi mata throw was awarded wazari (the second top score), landing in a perfect position to complete the victory by hold-down.

In the semi-finals, the Dunfermline High School pupil faced her personal bete noire, Leah Grosvenor, of Samurai Judo Club, Kidderminster, and although the 13-year-old West Fifer competed well and fought bravely, the English girl caught her with a clean throw for the contest-ending ippon score midway through the scheduled three-minute fight. In the end, Forrest had to be happy with the bottom step of the podium, keeping her medal tally ticking over once again.

Pindown Dalgety Bay’s Kirsty Marsh (14) continued her progress in the cadet (under-18) ranks, beating the seeded Brooke Powell, of London’s New Cross Martial Arts Academy, in her first fight with a similar throw-and-hold combination to the one Forrest had used the previous day.

Leading her second fight against current British champion Aimee Grant at the halfway stage, Marsh was unfortunately thrown for ippon with a textbook uchi mata but rallied well to beat Bishop Stortford JC’s Sidney Tancock with a North-South pindown in her first repechage fight.

Handed another tough draw in the shape of Bristol’s British silver-medallist Chloe Gowen, the Inverkeithing High School pupil was holding her own into the closing stages of the fight when the English squad member punished a mistake and held her down for ippon, leaving her in seventh place in the large under-52kg category for the third successive ranking tournament.

Both fighters, along with many of the club’s younger competitors, return to action this weekend on the Scottish Grand Prix circuit at the Ultimate Judo Open at Meadowbank Sports Centre.