Teenage judoka William Johnson is being tipped for a medal at the European Cadets Championships in the Czech Republic this weekend.

Johnson, who trains at Yoshin Ryu Judo Club in Coulsdon, will be competing in the under 55kg weight category in Teplice against Europe’s finest young players.

The 15 year-old's club coach, Adam Plinston, believes Johnson has all the attributes to succeed at the event, considered to be the continent's main junior judo competition, and goes as far as to say he is the most gifted player he has seen.

“The European Championship is clearly a step up in class, but he is there on merit," said Plinston.

"He will need a good draw, to be positive and get off to a good start in his first fight but I believe William has it in him to produce a medal at this event.

“I've been coaching for around 20 years now and William is by far the most talented judoka I have taught, including students who have competed at national level.

“After one session, his natural ability was so good that I would show him a throw and by the end of the lesson he would be turning everyone over with it."

Plinston, who is a third Dan believes Johnson's mature and positive approach to training is the key to him achieving success.

“William knows the only way to improve and get results is by hard work on the mat", he said.

"Every lesson his work rate is 100% when training with less experienced players."