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JIM’S TOKYO 2020 KARATE HOPE

A Hamilton karate instructor hopes the Tokyo 2020 Olympics breathe new life into the sport, after watching 37 of his students pass various gradings.

Veteran Jim Kirkwood watched with pride as 36 juniors passed their Kyu grades, while six others progressed in their black belt gradings.

However, the Hamilton Shotokan Karate Club coach wants to see the sport thriving, and hopes karate’s debut in kumite and kata at Tokyo 2020 will provide that impetus.

“It is my hope that the Japan 2020 Olympics will inspire people of all ages and genders to take up karate,” said Jim.

“It feels like a forgotten sport, and I’m delighted that it is to be included in the Olympics.

“It’s not taekwondo or anything like that, it’s karate, and it lets people see what it’s all about as a discipline, a sport, and a way of keeping fit.”

Students who passed their gradings were:

Red belt (9th Kyu): Jack Winning, Reece Gallacher, Riley Dingwall, Lewis Gemmell, Nataniel Mirga, Lewis Savage and Chris Smith.

Orange belt (8th Kyu): Abbie Fairbairn, Silin Abidrabbo, Mya-rose Adams, Gurleen Kaur, Kyle Baylan, Connor Nelson and Xavier Rowan.

Yellow belt (7th Kyu): Lisa-marie Adams, Aaron Collins, Niamh Allan, Heather Mcfarlane and Barry Allan.

Green belt (6th Kyu): Oliweir Tomoszewski and Kian Mcgarry.

Purple belt (5th Kyu): Holly Posselwhite and Andrew Smith.

Purple and white belt (4th Kyu): Lara Paterson, Joshua Martin and Lewis Paterson.

Brown belt (3rd Kyu): Aayan Sarfraz. Brown and white belt (1st Kyu): Melissa Moore, Carys O’neill and Cole Cochrane.

Black belt (1st Dan): Jasleen Kaur and Zara Alexander.

Black belt (2nd Dan); Brian Provan and John Mccabe.

Black belt (3rd Dan): Colin Smith and Jim Strang.

Jim, who himself is a black belt 6th Dan, said: “All of the students had prepared well, they put in a lot of hard training on the three nights a week leading up to the grading. On the day the standard was very good.

“Everybody will be back training in January for upcoming gradings in 2020.”

For more information on the club or to join, their classes are held at South Lanarkshire Lifestyles in Fairhill, their website is www.hamiltonshotokan. co.uk and Jim can be contacted directly on 07719 323552.

CLAIRE SELECTED FOR WORLDS

Hamilton’s Claire Anderson (pictured right) will play her part as Scotland’s bowlers prepare to take on the best players from around the globe in next year’s World Bowls Championships.

The 2020 event will be held on Australia’s Gold Coast between May 26 and June 7.

Bowls Scotland’s High-performance Selection Panel have shown complete confidence in the players who represented Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and contributed to the most successful Games ever by a Scottish lawn bowls team.

From that squad, seven out of the 10 players that played on the Gold Coast in 2018 made themselves available for selection, including British Isles Under-25 singles champion Claire.

Joining Claire in the women’s team are Stacey Mcdougall, Kay Moran, Lauren Baillie-whyte and British Isles singles champion Dee Hoggan.

The men’s team consists of Ronnie Duncan, Derek Oliver, Darren Burnett, Paul Foster MBE and Alex Marshall MBE.

Siblings Carla and Jason Banks have been selected as travelling reserves for the championships.

Claire admitted she’s buzzing for the event, and said: “I can’t wait, it will be a great experience.

“I’ve been over to the Gold Coast a couple of times and brought a silver medal back from the Under-25 Championships so I will be hoping to medal again.

“This is the biggest thing to ever happen to me, basically, and this is the secondbiggest event we can play in, only to the Commonwealth Games, so it would be amazing to medal.

“It will be interesting; you’re up against some of the best players in the world and that will be challenging, but you’ve got to be ready for it.

“Coming back with success would really put Scottish bowls on the map. We had a great Commonwealth Games and every one of us came back with a medal, so I hope we can repeat that success.”

Bowls Scotland High-performance coach David Gourlay MBE said: “The World Bowls Championships is the second-biggest event on the bowls calendar, second only to the Commonwealth Games.

“Again, the championships will be held on Southern Hemisphere greens, which always creates challenges for Northern Hemisphere countries.

“However, I have total confidence that the squad selected has the ability to challenge for medals.

“Every member of the squad has previous experience and success playing in the Southern Hemisphere and this was a crucial part of the selection process.” The championships will be held at three state-of-the-art facilities in Australia’s Gold Coast, at Broadbeach, Helensvale and Musgrave Hill bowling clubs.

MURPHY TIPPED FOR ’WELL RETURN

Jamie Murphy has been tipped for a return to Motherwell, by former team-mate Jim Paterson.

Paterson, who played alongside Murphy as ’Well finished third in the top flight in 2008, says Stephen Robinson could do worse than bring the striker back on loan from Rangers.

Murphy has fallen down the pecking order at Ibrox after a year out with a cruciate knee injury and has made only two appearances this season, the last being against Ross County back in October.

Paterson, who is current boss at East Kilbride FC, said: “It’s good to have an experienced head in the team for when results or performances are going against you.

“I watched Motherwell lose to Hibs and it was one of those where the performance dipped a bit.

“You can see they want to play the game but it’s tough when you are a young side on the back-foot.

“Just now the team have youth and exuberance, but when you have an offday it can be hard to rectify it. Then again, they can go into big games with absolutely no fear.

“It’s a double-edged sword, but if they were to bring in a bit more experience it could help.”

On Murphy’s qualities, Paterson said: “You knew Murph’s qualities right away when he was coming through; he was absolutely rapid and did a great job for Motherwell.

“He’s a player that would really help the squad when they are under pressure in games, with all the experience has gone on to get.

“Aside from that, he’s an attacking threat and if they want to bolster the squad in January he would be a great signing.”

Paterson, 40, reckons keeping the squad together can be the key to a good season for Motherwell.

“They have put themselves in such a great position,” he said. “If they can keep the squad together next month and add an experienced head, I just can’t see past them getting in the top three.

“That should be their aim, at least, for this season.

“If you can bolster the squad with a player like Jamie Murphy in January it will help you in big games against the likes of Aberdeen or Hibs, who are around you.”