Karina Bryant wins silver to save British pride at the Judo Worlds

KARINA Bryant picked up a silver medal in the +78kg category at the Judo World Championships in Rotterdam to ensure Great Britain didn't leave completely empty-handed.

The 30-year old is a four-time European champion but after missing out on the medals at the 2007 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro and in Beijing last year, Bryant had something of a point to prove in the Netherlands.

And the Camberley judoka did so in style, defeating Olympic bronze medallist, Slovenia's Lucija Polavder in the first round before two more wins brought her a final berth against Olympic champion, China's Wen Tong.

But Tong proved one step far for the Brit after the Chinese judoka struck an ippon, little over 90 seconds into the contest.

Bryant's medal comes as a timely boost for head coach Patrick Roux who, despite playing down British medal chances at the championships, was surely expecting criticism for his charges' performances in the Netherlands.

Former world silver medallist Peter Cousins was also in action on the final day and fought bravely in the -100kg category to win two close bouts against Hungary's Daniel Hadji and Canada's Scott Edward.

But the Brit came unstuck in the third round against Egypt's Ramadan Darwish, falling one round short of the repechage.

Matthew Clempner was less successful in the heavyweight 100+ kg category, losing to an ippon from Ivan Iliev after 71 seconds.