Father and son Kev and Ben Attwood both won bronze medals in the Open Judo Championships in Belfast.

FATHER and son Kev and Ben Attwood travelled to Northern Ireland to compete in the Open Judo Championships held in Belfast.

This was Ben’s first competition fighting in his new weight group U66kg. Ben who trains at Bath University and Bradley Stoke Judo Club, goes to the Kings Academy Sixth Form in Cheddar.

Ben adapted extremely well and reached the semi-finals beating three highly-ranked players on the way. In the semi-final, Ben had to fight Britain’s number one and within 10 seconds it looked as if he had pulled the result of the day, but the score given was harsh.

As the fight progressed, Ben finally got thrown and had to then fight for the bronze medal against another full-time player. This time he made no mistake, controlling the fight and winning bronze along with valuable ranking points.

Ben tried his luck in the senior event later the same day, after some gruelling fights Ben finished a creditable ninth place beating Britain’s number eight during the day.

In the masters event, Ben coached his dad, Kev Attwood, who was fighting in the U81kg category. Two wins by maximum score saw him reach the semi-final, unfortunately with seconds to go Kev fell foul of the new rules and was disqualified for leg grabbing. He eventually progressed to win a bronze medal.

This weekend Ben is competing in Lithuania at the Junior European Championships.