GLOSSOP Judo Club’s Eric Ham was initially left disappointed despite returning from the Junior US open at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Centre.

It was his second trip to the tough international event which saw more than 600 fighters in attendance from 27 different countries.

Having won a bronze medal two years ago, Ham was among a group of 12 fighters in the boys’ under 34 kilo section.

He got off to a great start, winning his first fight in under 10 seconds before taking on the American champion in his second contest.

He dominated for the first two minutes and should have won the fight but for some dubious refereeing calls.

Sadly, he got countered doing a rather sloppy technique, losing the fight and putting him out of the reckoning for a gold medal.

Ham then needed to win all his next three fights to win the bronze medal, prevailing in the first of his three contests against a good South African fighter who produced some good defence.

His next, and hardest, fight of the day was against a classy fighter from Texas with many good attacks made by both fighters before Ham began to dominate and seal a place in the bronze medal contest.

That showdown was a slightly easier affair for Ham, whose next assignment comes with a week-long training camp.

September and October will see the Glossop club’s best fighters competing in the two biggest and most important events on the domestic judo calendar.

September sees them competing at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, for the Heart of England judo championships.

In October, they have a slightly shorter trip over to Sheffield for the 2009 British Championships. Results from these two difficult events will decide which fighters will gain places on the 2010 English judo squad.