Holborn Tigers at the British Taekwondo Autumn Open Championships

A TEAM of travelling Tigers looks set to test their taekwondo skills overseas after enjoying another mighty medal haul in Manchester at the weekend.

A squad of seven martial artists from across Camden, Islington, and Westminster once again proved a big hit at the British Taekwondo Autumn Open Championships, with every single member from the Holborn Tigers club that took part in the competition returning home boasting at least one medal.

Showing great pride in his young cubs, Master Rienzi Trento said: “We’re all very happy with the outcome in Manchester. No matter how hard you train, you only find out how good you are when you take part in competitions; that’s when you really find out how you handle the pressure.

“To compete outside of your home club environment isn’t easy, especially when you are surrounded by more experienced martial artists, some of whom have been training for decades, who are watching you and judging your performance. With that in mind, all the kids did extremely well. They displayed great character and have really grown in confidence.”

Declaring that his Tigers are “now ready to take the next step in their development”, Master Trento revealed some big plans for 2025.

“You are only as good as your last performance,” said the 6th-dan black belt, who lives in Somers Town. “It’s important that all the kids stay humble, keep training hard, and continue to develop.

“We have been invited to take part in competitions in France, Spain, and Morocco next year, so now we’re exploring those possibilities and more in the hope that some of the kids can experience what it would be like to compete overseas.

“It would be the first time that the Holborn Tigers have ever competed on foreign soil. It’s a very exciting prospect.”

The Tigers would certainly jet off in a confident mood after wowing judges over the weekend. On Saturday, Maya Funmilayo-Oneto and Samuel de Almeida, who are both seven, received gold medals in the poomsae, otherwise known as patterns, in which a competitor is judged on their ability to perform a set sequence of movements that consist of various fundamental stances, blocks, punches, and kicks.

Maya, who lives in Holborn and goes to Christopher Hatton Primary School, said: “The competition was a fantastic experience; it was very exciting.”

Maximilian Babak scooped a silver in the patterns, while his older sister, Lilli, along with siblings Nasra, 11, and Ugaas Olad, 8, collected bronze medals.

Fresh from winning golds at the World Union of Martial Arts Federation’s second World Championships last month, Lilli, 10, and Maximilian, 8, stepped up their game on Sunday when they took part in the kyorugi, the art of sparring.

The siblings, who live in Soho and both attend Soho Parish School, were again in unstoppable form in Manchester as they won their respective categories.

“After winning gold at the World Championships, getting gold again at the British Open is a great feeling,” said Lilli, who recently celebrated earning her black belt. “The fights in the black belt category are a very different level; it is getting very tactical and intense.

“We have now received many invites to competitions all over Europe, which is very exciting.”

Maximilian, who holds a green belt with a blue stripe, continued the hot streak that saw him dominate both his fighting and patterns disciplines at the World Championships.

He said: “I like that I won gold in fighting and silver in patterns in Manchester after my double world champion title last month. I have now won all my last six fights at big competitions.”

The medal count continued to climb, with Nesra and Ugaas securing silver medals in the kyorugi, while Samuel, Maya, and Maisie Underwood, 10, all received bronzes.

Master Rienzi added: “All the kids really made everyone proud. Some of the medals didn’t reflect the performances that they put in. For example, Sammy picked up a bronze in fighting, but he only lost by one point against Max, so he could easily have been the one going for gold.

“And Maya also got a bronze in fighting, but she was outstanding. She’s got speed, technique, timing – she’s definitely one to watch out for in the future.”