British Judoka number two says he needs to toughen up

Judoka Jan Gosiewski says he must toughen up mentally if he is to win a medal at Saturday's GB World Cup.

The British number two competes in the under-73 category and heads to the competition in Liverpool, an event on the International Judo Federation World Circuit, having shown good form at the World University Games in China in August.

Ranked 146th in the world, Gosiewski upset the odds by beating Yasuhiro Awano, the world number eight and last year's world bronze medallist, on his way to finishing fifth.

Despite that feat, Gosiewski admits his fragile mental state tends to hold him back.

"Sometimes I don't do as well as I should and it's because I'm not in the right frame of mind," said the 23-year-old.

"Often it's decided on who can dig deeper and who wants it more. Believing in my ability is definitely something I need to improve on.

"I believe that I have the right skills and techniques to do well but I need to make sure I use them."

To attempt to combat the problem, Gosiewski draws inspiration from music and literature. "Music has a [positive] effect - house, electronic, Daft Punk," he said. "Books help, they put things in perspective, particularly [books] on talent and working hard and mental preparation."