Carterton's Jim Birnie had three reasons to celebrate when he claimed a silver medal at the British Masters Championships in Dagenham.
The achievement earned Birnie (pictured left) a place in the Great Britain Masters team, and also gained him his 3rd Dan black belt.
Fighting in the under 90kg class for the first time, Birney battled through the preliminary rounds.
However, he had no answer to Joe Johnson, of Erdington JC, in the final, forcing him to take second.
He said: “It was a fantastic day and this is my first British Masters medal.”
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