Colin Larkin has set his sights on a medal at the World Taekwondo Championships.

Larkin, 67, a postman from Ashford, flew out to Hong Kong with his Great Britain team-mates on Monday.

The tournament runs from November 30-December 4, with Larkin competing as part of a three-man team in the 65-70 age group.

“We’re going to come back with a medal - we’re confident of that,” he said.

“Hopefully it will be gold but we’ll see.

“There are some good teams in the competition, the likes of America, Australia and Argentina.

“It’s been a lifetime goal to go to the World Championships.”

Larkin took up taekwondo in 1972 but took a lengthy break before returning in 2014.

The sport has long been his passion, becoming a national champion, with world success the next goal after achieving GB selection.

“Over the last few years I’ve entered a lot of competitions and won a few medals,” said Larkin, who has self-funded the trip to Hong Kong to the tune of £2-3,000.

“They do an assessment at the beginning of the year for anyone who wants to apply for the GB team and I was lucky enough to get selected.

“I’ve been on the team for two or three years now.”

Larkin runs his own taekwondo club, Fighting Spirit, and helps out at Way Taekwondo, both based in Ashford.