The Turkish city of Izmir will this week host a talented young British squad in the 7th Taekwondo Junior World Championships. The Great Britain team, including both Aaron Cook and Scott Atkinson, will continue their preparations in the run up to the event which takes place from the 6th-11th May. The competition is a showcase for the sports brightest young talents and the British team will start the event with two current Junior European Champions on the team (Cook and Atkinson) who are hoping to contribute to a successful team performance.

The last Junior World Championships which took place in Vietnam back in 2006 saw Aaron Cook (Scorpion Taekwondo Club, Doncaster) take the only British medal, finishing with a bronze, having since become Junior European Champion alongside compatriot Scott Atkinson (Scorpion Taekwondo Club, Doncaster). The Britons have a very real chance of challenging for honours in Turkey and Bianca Walkden (Elite Taekwondo Club, Liverpool), Junior European bronze medallist, will hope to contest for a podium finish in the +68Kg female competition.

Gary Hall, Performance Director for British Taekwondo, is looking forward to testing the team on the world stage. Hall said, It is not only a great challenge of their ability but also a fantastic opportunity for this young team to strengthen their profiles on a world stage. Our hope is that they will continue their progression to become world-class athletes in years to come. As we draw closer to London 2012 I am very positive about the depth of ability in our squad and with a good team effort we have a great chance as any of performing well in Turkey.