Islington judoka Sam Charalambous won bronze at the CSIT World Sport Games in Latvia recently.

Charalambous, who trains at the Sobell Judo Club, was in action in the under-73kg category in Riga and won his first bout against a Latvian rival with an armlock.

After losing to an Austrian, Charalambous produced a dynamic ippon to beat a Finnish rival, but then lost his semi-final to an Iranian, who went on to win gold.

After making the podium, he said: “I’m pleased I got a bronze, however I did feel I could have fought better. But I learnt a few things so I’ll go work on them and hopefully win gold next time.”

Sobell’s Sam Sampson was fifth in the under-81kg group and Phillip Bloom finished seventh in the over-100kg competition.

The World Sports Games are a major sporting event held every two years for amateurs outside the top 100 world rankings, who do not have access to full-time training or funding.