Judo player David Ferguson returns to top level competition this weekend in the Casablanca African Open (18-19 March) after a six-month injury lay-off.
It has been a frustrating six months for the 21-year-old Edinburgh College student who snapped a knee ligament preparing for the European open in his home town of Glasgow.
The injury blow came only days after experiencing the highs of winning bronze at last September’s Asian Open in Taipei,
Ferguson is nervous about his return to the circuit and he recalled the moment when his world turned upside down.
He said: “Four days before the Glasgow tournament I was doing squad training and turned in for a throw but my leg got caught on the mat and my knee twisted the wrong way and I snapped my MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament).
“I only got back on the mat about a month ago and I’m really looking forward to competing again.”
Ferguson, who is studying Developing Sport and Performance, is one of 150 students supported by Winning Students, Scotland’s national sports scholarships programme for student athletes.
He said: “The course I’m doing links in well with being an athlete. The College is supportive, particularly around being away for training camps.
“When you are going to places like Japan and competing maybe six times a year abroad it’s expensive so the extra funding from Winning Students definitely helps.”
Ferguson is working towards his ultimate goals of World Championships and Olympic Games and said: “After Morocco I’ve got domestic events, the English and Irish Open in April and May, followed by World Cups in June, Belarus and Romania, then Japan again for a two month training block.
“I want to win everything and, if you are looking for anything less than that, I don’t really see the point in being involved in the sport. You have to give 100 percent and try and achieve everything.”
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