Scottish Judoka Chris Murphy (-81kg) from Shettleston Judo Club has been selected to represent Team GB at the Virtus Oceania/Asia Games which will take place from 5 – 11 November 2022 in Brisbane, Australia.

Nine Judoka from Great Britain will compete at The Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022, an international multi-sport competition in the Oceania Asia region for elite athletes with an intellectual impairment.

We sat down with current ID World Champion and Special Olympic Silver Medallist, Chris to talk about his selection.

“There is two sides to this, the judoka side of me is ecstatic about being selected for the Games because I’ll get to fight people from that region of the world, which will include China and Japan. I’ve never had the opportunity to fight people from those regions before, so I’m really excited about that.”

“The other side of me, the personal side is really excited because it’s Australia, I’m going to AUSTRALIA, it’s a bucket list thing for me.”

“If I can medal there then I’d be really happy and if I get the gold then I will be ecstatic, but I’m more looking forward to going over and having a good tournament. I want to see if my judo is where it needs to be, as this is new territory for me.”

“I’m looking at this as a precursor to the global games, whoever I fight here I may also come across them at the global games so this will be a good way to see if my judo can match up, this is a bit of a testing ground.”

“I just wanted to give a special thanks to my sensei Alex Reid, Paul Laverty and Allan Philip as well as to everyone that has supported me over the years.”

Chris’ coach Paul Laverty added “On a level playing field against his peers, against people with the same conditions he has, he excels to a different level, he trains to a different level, and he’s the humblest. He’s probably the most loved person in judo that I know, he is absolutely adored by everybody.”

Judith McCleary, JudoScotland CEO added “JudoScotland is looking forward to supporting Chris on his exciting journey towards classification and we are pleased to be able to make a financial contribution towards his costs. Chris’ journey to classification is an important step for elite Judoka with an intellectual impairment”

JudoScotland would like to wish Chris and the GB Team the best of luck at the Games. The team heading to The Virtus Oceania Asia Games are self-funded so if you would like to support them on their journey you can do so here.