Ashford’s Colin Larkin made good on his goal to medal at the World Taekwondo Championships - and it was nearly gold.

Postman Larkin, 67, along with GB teammates Ali Pourtaheri and Mike Pejic, was pipped to glory in the over-60s’ team category in Hong Kong by just 0.01 points - the USA taking the title.

However despite the disappointment of falling short he can look back on the campaign with pride as one of the few GB entrants to medal - especially considering the limited time the squad had together in the run-up to the event.

“The competition was exciting and well organised but was very tough as it was a different system to the scoring that we are used to using in the UK,” Larkin said.

“It’s what they call an elimination system where two individuals or teams compete, one winner one loser, therefore if you lose you are out, competition over.

“As the team had to sync every move we could have done with more training time together. Unfortunately we all live miles apart and only had the monthly squad training sessions in Manchester to prepare.

“This is the largest team GB has ever put together for a major competition. The ages range from 12 to 73-years-old. Win or lose they are here because they are world class.

“The whole experience has been absolutely amazing, the team has bonded and I am so proud of them all, especially the young ones, whose spirit, dedication and support for each other has been truly outstanding.”

Larkin, who runs Ashford-based Fighting Spirit, expects he’ll be busy in 2025, both for self and country.

“Next year we have the European Championships,” he said.

“This alternates yearly with the World Championships. I plan to do more coaching of our local team plus more refereeing and judging at events, along with the occasional competition to keep on form.

“I’m also taking my fifth Dan promotion test at the end of the year.”