DUNFERMLINE judo youngster Isaac Callaghan has become a British champion after producing a superb performance south of the border recently.

The Destination Judo Club member was taking part in the British National Age Group Championships, held at the Institute of Sport in Sheffield, earlier this month and returned home with a brilliant gold medal.

Competing in the pre-cadet (under-15) boys' under-34kg category, Isaac took the crown following a series of impressive victories which showcased his excellent fight management skills as much as his wide range of effective techniques.

Going a score down early on in his quarter-final bout against Dowty JC's Oscar Gorodetskiy, the West Fifer equalised the fight with a counter-attacking wazari score of his own to take the contest into 'golden score'.

In the next exchange, Isaac showed great presence of mind to drive his opponent to the mat for a second, decisive wazari score after the Gloucestershire athlete had narrowly averted conceding a score in his opponent's initial attack.

The semi-final against Huddersfield JC's Elliot Wilkinson was a more straightforward affair, with Isaac's superior groundwork skills enabling him to take the victory, holding his opponent to the mat for the requisite 20 seconds to progress to the final.

In what was one of the fights of the day, he went on to grind out a penalty win in the gold-medal contest over Dragons Judo Academy's Ocean Hughes towards the end of the fifth minute of exhausting 'golden score' time.

Both fighters had escaped from each other's pindowns during the contest and also came close to producing what would have been the winning throw for either competitor in an enthralling final.

With both Isaac and his opponent tiring, and one penalty each away from conceding the fight, a strong attack from the West Fifer saw Hughes step outside the contest area as he tried to defend, and the decisive penalty was awarded rightly in his favour to secure his first British title.

The action in Sheffield continues this weekend, where some of the local, older competitors are set to take to the mat.