THORNBURY'S Sally Conway was disappointed to lose in the elimination round of 16 in the Women's -70kg weight category at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, writes Ed Jones.

Reflecting on the defeat and European Games more broadly, Sally was upbeat, she said: “Leading into the competition I felt my preparation had been going really well. I felt my judo was in a really good place, but it just goes to show that on the day one mistake costs you the fight and that’s you out of the competition. But up to that point I’d been feeling really good, with the World Championships only a couple months away now I’ve got that to work towards. I can go back to the drawing board, have a couple of months off and try and make a few things right ahead of the world championships.

“It’s one of the best experiences ever at the European Games in terms of being the flag-bearer for Team GB – I couldn’t have been happier. I just wish it could have had a happy ending with a European medal but unfortunately this time it didn’t happen. And I hope to do better at the World Championships.”