MARTIAL ARTS: Montasar Hamdi was crowned British Champion of his division in last week's British National Taekwondo Championships in Manchester.

The 16-year-old will be further rewarded with an invitation to participate in a round-robin event to earn a place on the British team.

Hamdi was one of eight London Taekwondo Academy fighters to gain medals at the championships as a team of 10 made their presence felt.

The youngster moved up a weight group and competed in U59kg Juniors for the first time.

He won his first fight narrowly (11-10), but upped the aggression in his second contest to sail into the final after a dominant display.

In the final, he trailed 6-0 after a first round in which he dominated but failed to score, but after landing continuous head shots in the final two rounds, he overwhelmed his opponent 10-7.

The other medalists were: [25a0] Shahram Safie, 15, gained silver after reaching the final of the U59kg Junior Novices. He lost by just two points.

* Waqas Iqbal, 14, gained silver after reaching the final of the U48 Junior Novices.

* Pravin Sunwar, 11, gained a bronze after reaching the semi-finals in the U37kg Cadets.

* Khuram Shah, 15, gained a bronze after reaching the semi-finals if the U48 kg Juniors.

* Ayet Labidi, the current European Junior Cham-pion, gained a bronze in the senior U62kg division.

Labidi turned 18 this year and moved up to the senior division. In his first fight he won 7-0, second fight 8-1, he then faced the current British team player in the semi-final. He fought well, but lost by three points.

* Samuel Golding, 29, gained a silver in the U72kg senior division. His first fight was against an experienced fighter, but he dominated the match. He then beat his second opponent 7-0 and went on to face the current British team player in the final. He fought well, but unfortunately lost.

* Nischelle Patel, 14, was a silver medallist after reaching the final of the U44kg Junior division, She was forced to reture during the contest after injuring her foot during the final.

The team was coached by Master Usman Dildar, Munir Azizshalizi, Stephen Thomas and Piyush Khengar and included members from LTA clubs in Acton, Hanwell, Greenford and Wembley.