Derry’s Joshua Green "buzzing" to win Commonwealth Bronze in the Men’s Judo
Derry judo star Joshua Green was celebrating after becoming a Commonwealth Games medallist for the first time when he secured bronze in the Men’s 73kg Judo for Team NI in Glasgow on Saturday.
After missing out in Birmingham where he finished fifth four years ago, Culmore native Green began his 2026 campaign with a golden score win over Mattheo Lawson by Yuko before, in the quarter-finals, defeating Scotland’s Oliver Short by the same method.
Those brace of victories set up a semi-final against England’s Benjamin Levy, who proved too strong and moved forward to the gold medal match after a win by Waza-Ari. Levy would eventually finish with the silver medal after losing out to compatriot, Ethan Nairne but Green bounced back superbly from the disappointment.
The 26-year-old, who has his father, Paul coaching with the Team NI, was up against Welshman Moore and fully deserved to edge a tense bout and win his first medal at the Games.
"It's brilliant," beamed Joshua after his medal securing victory, "It is a bit of a sore one anytime someone brings up last time (in Birmingham), but to get it done and get on the podium is really good. I'm buzzing.
"There's a lot of hard work day in day out and my dad is here as a coach so he is over the moon. It’s been a good day, a long day but all good in the end,” added Green. “Obviously (I was) disappointed not to be in the final, but I lost to the English boy (Benjamin Levy), he's a good boy, I knew it was going to be a tough scrap anyway and it could have gone either way.
"Unfortunately it went his way… so I went back, had about an hour and a half to chill, regroup, sort to head out and then just get ready and go again.
“Relief just (at bronze) and then just seeing my family, seeing my friends in the crowd...a really good moment just to sort of take it in.
"My club mates from where I'm currently training, Camberley Judo Club, they've come up in numbers, my hometown club Konarakai has all travelled in numbers and there's loads of my family here too, so it's a really good day. Anybody who can take a bit of inspiration from it will hopefully take it on.”
Joshua’s bronze medal was Team NI’s 14th medal at these Glasgow games and congratulating the Derry man, Richard Archibald, Interim CEO, Sport NI said: “Congratulations to Joshua from everyone at Sport NI for his bronze medal in the men’s 73kg Judo.
"This medal represents years of hard work and dedication, and we are sure his performance will inspire young people across Northern Ireland. “We are proud to have supported Joshua at the start of his career through our National Lottery funded Athlete Award, which supports athletes to train to maximise their potential and perform on the world stage.”