Natalie Powell has targeted European judo gold in her bid to win selection for the Rio Olympics.

The Commonwealth Games champ bagged bronze at last weekend’s Tbilisi Grand Prix but slipped to ninth in the world rankings.

That left her one spot below automatic selection ahead of a likely battle with 2012 silver medallist Gemma Gibbons for the -78Kg place in the team for Rio.

The Europeans are in Kazan, Russia, from April 21-24.

Merthyr Tydfil-born fighter Powell beat Gibbons to win gold in Glasgow in 2014.

The 25-year-old said: “That would definitely secure my spot if I won the Europeans.

“I don’t think there’s any catching me after that point.”

Powell, 25, is four places above Gibbons in the world rankings after beating European junior champion Madeleine Malonga of France to take third place in Georgia.

And Powell, speaking to BBC Radio Wales, added: “I’m pleased with the medal because it means I’ve got a few more points towards qualification, but it wasn’t the best day of fighting for me.

“I really struggled in most of my fights. I’d just come off the end of a really concentrated training block and gone straight into competition.

“I was quite tired to be honest, but I was really pleased to be able to pull out a result when I was physically probably not in the best shape that I could have been