BOLTON judo star Joshua Ramm aims to improve his chances of going to the Olympics by training with the best players in the world.

The 17-year-old is one of Britain’s top rising stars in the sport and looks a sure bet of representing Britain at the Games one day.

He showed his precocious talent at the British Championships in Sheffield a fortnight ago when he picked up a bronze medal in the under 90kg category for the under-20s age group.

He easily won five out of his six fights and lost to the gold medalist Josh Butler in the last 10 seconds.

It is indicative of the Harwood teenager’s potential that he still has two years left in the age group and that the championships were his first competitive action for seven months after breaking a wrist.

The former Turton High School pupil is confident he will beat Butler when they clash again in the British team trials in January.

While he is on course to dominate British judo at under-20s in the next two years, he has his sights set on making his mark on the Olympics — possibly as early as 2012 in London.

And it is to that end that his coaches are hoping to take him to the Kodakan in Tokyo, which is regarded as the spiritual home of the sport.

“It is the main place in the world for judo,” said Ramm, who works as a lifeguard at the David Lloyd sports centre in Bolton.

“It is where the best judo players in the world train, and if you are going to go to the Olympics you have to go there and train with the best.

“We’re hoping to go there for a month next summer.”