Teenager Tim Needham takes on worlds best for Team GB

Local teenager Tim Needham is gearing up for the biggest competition in his fledging Taekwondo career, after being selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Championships in Taiwan next month.

Needham, 15, will embark on the trip to Asia on March 3^rd, stopping off in Korea to continue his training prep before advancing to Taiwan, where he will compete in the under 48kg category, some 20 days later.

On being told he’d been selected, Tim said: "I felt over the moon, it's a fantastic opportunity to compete at the world championships"

Despite juggling the demands of school, Needham competed in the European championships in September, reaching the quarterfinals.

The last couple of years have been fruitful for the 15 year old, with honours including gold at the Austrian A class, silver at both the German and Croatian A class, and bronze in the Spanish A class.

The Huddersfield born youngster is expected to medal in Taiwan.

"My mind set going into this is going to have to be very focused, one slip could result in losing so I need to concentrate. No doubt I'll be nervous but there is no way I’m backing down."

A positively courageous attitude adopted by both Tim and his brother Alex 2 years his senior, who have endured immeasurable adversity in the past, their mother passing away in 2008 and the sport of Taekwondo has helped keep the teenagers focussed, grounded and disciplined.

"We train 6 sometimes 7 days a week, it can include cardio and Taekwondo specific training. Every other weekend we are in Manchester training with the junior national team coach as well as the rest of the junior invitational squad"

However, as with many sporting disciplines in the current economic climate, funding is tight.

"The thing that we would change about the sport is that it costs a lot of money to do the sport due to the different international competitions. Also the national governing body don’t give any money to help fund them."

Team GB provide no financial support to competitors, who are tasked with raising the funds required to travel to the various international competitions and tournaments around Europe and the rest of the world.

The trip to the Junior Worlds will cost between £3,000 and £4,000.

Older brother Alex has also had similar success in the martial arts discipline, possessing a black belt in Taekwondo, and claiming gold at the British Open A class the highlight of the 17 year olds career so far.

Both Needham brothers share the same passion for the sport and are winners, with the hope of taking their talents even further.

"When we started like most kids we had a dream to be world champions, but in recent years that dream has become all the more likely. We both hope to become world and Olympic champions, eventually become one of the greatest ever to do the sport" said Alex.

The Needham siblings progression through the help from a support network of family, friends and instructors coupled with hard work and determination to succeed, earmarks the Olympics in Rio 2016 as a realistic aim.