Giles claims silver on day one in Turkey

She trumped her previous best finish of seventh place she managed at the Tunis Grand Prix a few months ago in style as the Coventry judoka faced Kosovo's Distria Krasniqi in the final.

The world number five had been in dominant form all day but Giles held her own in the fight until the very end, when a seoi-nage from Krasniqi ended the contest for gold.

"I am really happy to win my first Grand Prix medal, beating two players in the world's top 20," said the 21-year-old.

"I feel this will give me more confidence going forward at senior level ranking events."

Giles' contest began with a bye in the first round, her first opposition being Russia's Daria Bobrikova who she overcame with a well-timed throw for ippon in just over a minute.

Next up was world number 16 Reka Pupp from Hungary, who beat Giles in 2017 – but not this time, as the Brit forced her opponent to pick up two shidos and eventually succumb, sending Giles to the semi-final.

There, a gruelling contest saw Giles graft hard for victory over world number 19 Betina Temelkova, from Israel, in a fight which easily outlasted the four minutes and was decided by golden score.

Coach Kate Howey was full of praise for Giles, adding: "Chelsie fought really well today and beat some players ranked well above her.

"She showed real composure throughout the competition and believed in herself to be at this level."

Sportsbeat 2018