CHELSIE Giles is hoping to add World Championship gold to her European and Olympic medals at next week’s World Judo Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The Coventry judoka won European gold in Sofia, Bulgaria back in April as she stunned France’s defending champion Amandine Buchard in the -52kg final.
And the gold added to Giles’ medal collection after she won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to claim Team GB’s first medal of the Games.
However, Giles is yet to win a medal at the World Championships despite having competed in each edition since 2018.
Giles exclusively told the Observer: “I’ve come close at the Worlds before with a fifth place, to be on the podium would be really good especially if it was a gold medal.
“I feel the pressure, I put pressure on myself, the next step I want to take is to get that World medal and hopefully I can manage the pressure as best as I can.
“I try not to worry about too many things that I can’t control and just focus on what I can control and keep my nerves under control.
“On training camps, people want to fight you and beat you a lot more [since becoming European champion], you’ve always got people after your spot but it keeps you chasing for that number one position.
“Over so many competitions, I’ve fought different people now, it gives you a bit more confidence each time, each competition everyone is still watching you fight, everyone is finding new tactics, you still have to be on top of your game.
“I take each competition one step at a time and each round I focus and make sure I’ve done my homework on my opponent.
“We’ve had the World preparation camps this week, it’s going really well and I’m feeling really strong, I’m looking forward to fighting next week.”
Giles competes in the 2022 World Judo Championships which take place from Thursday, October 6 to Thursday, October 13.
