Olympic silver medallist Gemma Gibbons will lead the squad as she returns to the international stage in the under 78 kilogram category following a series of injuries which have left her dabbling in the judo scene since her heroics at London 2012.

Colin Oates is the oldest named member of the squad at 30 and will be full of confidence off the back of his recent gold medal at the International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam in Baku.

"I'm excited to be selected for my second games in two years," said Oates.

"It was great fighting in London for the Olympics and the experience of fighting in another Games so close to home is going to be amazing.

"The atmosphere in London was phenomenal.

"If Glasgow even half matches that then it will be an outstanding event.

"The best part is that I get to fight for England in what is a rare occasion and taking a medal for the country in which I was born would be a fantastic achievement and something I would be extremely proud of."

Colin Oates will come into Glasgow 2014 full of confidence after earning gold at the 2014 Baku Grand Slam ©Getty Images



Oates, who finished seventh in the under 66kg category at London 2012, and Gibbons will be joined be two other Olympians, 2013 European bronze medallist Ashley McKenzie, competing at the under 60 kilogram weight category, and Kelly Edwards, who steps up a weight category to under 52kg after representing Britain at under 48kg during the Games.

"I am so happy to have been chosen to represent England at this year's Commonwealth Games," said McKenzie, who was knocked out in the second round at London 2012.

"The fact that the tournament is being held on home soil will make the atmosphere even better.

"I am always honoured to represent my country but when I was growing up, the Commonwealth Games was something I always watched on television and aspired to be a part of so it's going to feel extra special.

"It's also rare that my family and friends are able to watch me compete so it's great that they can travel up to Glasgow and see me in action on the day.

"I really hope that I can medal and make everyone proud, especially my coach, as together we've worked really hard since I returned from injury to ensure I have been consistent and achieved good results in all my fights so far this year."

The brother and sister duo of Benjamin and Megan Fletcher will make their way to Glasgow after being named to the Commonwealth Games squad today ©University of Bath



The brother and sister duo of Benjamin and Megan Fletcher were named to the squad following a successful week at the London British, a senior European Cup competition, with Benjamin taking gold in the under 100kg class and his sister coming home with the bronze at under 70kg.

The pair will be joined by two other gold medallists from the Open, Kelly Edwards and Nekoda Davis, who fight at under 52kg and under 57kg respectively, and fellow bronze medallists Owen Livesey, under 81kg, and Gary Hall, under 90kg.

The final four members of the squad are Faith Pitman, under 63kg, Thomas Reed, under 81kg, Jan Gosiewski, under 73kg and Jodie Myers, over 78kg.

Following the announcement Team England Chef de Mission Jan Paterson said: "I am delighted to welcome such a talented squad to Team England.

"It is very unusual to have an entire squad of debutants, but this is the first time Judo has been in the Games since Manchester 2002.

"We have a number of Olympians in the squad, including London 2012 silver medallist Gemma Gibbons and English judo has an incredible record at the Commonwealth Games topping the medal table every time they've performed.

"We'll be up against some tough competition in Glasgow but we will see some high quality performances from this squad."

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January 2013: Olympic medallist Gibbons to compete at 2013 British Judo Championships