MX23RW : Tuesday, June 18 13:46:55| >> :600:58677327:58677327:

Colin Oates pleased to justify 'favourites' tag

Colin Oates says that he is happy to win gold for England in the judo event but insists that his triumph was always the plan.

England's judo star Colin Oates has said that he is pleased to have lived up to his favourites tag and win gold at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

Oates, 31, became the second of three English champions in the judo event on day one of the Games by beating Andreas Krassas of Cyprus in the -66kg category.

Ashley McKenzie and female competitor Nekoda Davis also went all the way in their respective categories as England opened their campaign in Glasgow with six golds in total.

"When you come away with a gold medal you can't believe it but we came here with a job and were probably favourites, so we had to deliver," he told BBC Sport.

"One of the things about judo is that there are so many breaks and we have to keep focused [as] it requires a lot of mental skill.

"We had a wonderful reception from the crowd. We weren't sure what reaction we would get from the Scottish crowd but they have been supporting us as well, except when we were fighting the Scottish boys."

England lead the way in the medals table with a total of 17, ahead of Australia and Scotland respectively.

ID:166843: cacheID:166843:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2505:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ashley McKenzie flashes his gold medal earned in the men's -60kg judo on July 24, 2014
Read Next:
McKenzie: 'Gold a good stepping stone'
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, June 18
 
5pm
Wednesday, June 19
 
2pm
 
5pm
Thursday, June 20
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Group Stage
Spain
vs.
Italy
Friday, June 21
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 22
 
5pm
 
8pm
Sunday, June 23
 
8pm
 
8pm
Monday, June 24
 
8pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, June 25
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Wednesday, June 26
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 29
Sunday, June 30
Monday, July 1
Tuesday, July 2
Friday, July 5
Saturday, July 6
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!