Euan Burton beaten in Tokyo Grand Slam last four

Burton (in blue) beat Yoel Razvozov on his way to the last four in Tokyo

Euan Burton's bid to defend his Tokyo Grand Slam title in the -81kg category came to an end in the semi-finals as he lost by a yuko to Masahiro Takamatsu.

Takamatsu went on to lose to fellow Japanese Takahiro Nakai in the final while Burton had to settle for bronze.

France's Clarisse Agbegnenou was the only non-Japanese champion, beating compatriot Gevrise Emane by a yuko to win the women's under-63kg crown.

Britain's Gemma Howell, Karina Bryant and Gemma Gibbons all finished fifth.

Howell lost by a yuko to Azerbaijan's Kifayat Gasimova in the women's -57kg quarter-finals, while Bryant and Gibbons were defeated by Japanese opposition.

British Judo head coach Patrick Roux said: "The highlight of Euan is his consistency. We're all very impressed with him.

"He's delivering at major events such as the World Championships, European Championships and Grand Slams. Also important is the style of his performances and he's continuing to improve in that respect. Euan has a good spirit and a fantastic attitude.

"Gemma Howell and Gemma Gibbons showed that they have connected at this level and are showing consistency.

"Gemma Howell took bronze at the Under-23 European Championships, silver in Korea and fifth-place on Sunday and she was unlucky not to be awarded the win against her final opponent as she was doing all the attacking.

"Gemma Gibbons fought well and she's making good progress while Karina also showed improvement.

"It's a very important time for us now as we enter the next phase of the Olympic programme and we focus on intensification with more competitions."