KEIGHLEY-based Strike Taekwondo claimed a creditable sixth place in the England Open Championships.

Strike's team was mainly made up of youngsters, most of whom found themselves up against opponents of a higher grade, which provided an excellent learning opportunity.

And they were pleased to finish sixth in an event which saw 28 teams enter from across the country and further afield from nations such as Iceland, Qatar, Spain, Jordan and France.

In the opening poomsae (traditional forms) competition, Strike's Lewis Horne claimed bronze in the pee wee division (under-eights), with seniors Catherine Wossick and Mark Ainley taking silver.

In the sparring event pee wee division (under-eights) Riley Turner, Jack Smith, Layla Smith, Lewis Horne and Jake Hammond all won their first-round fights with all but Strike's youngest fighter, six-year-old Layla Smith going out in the second round.

Layla was entered into the B class division (white to blue belt red tag) but found herself up against a black belt opponent in the final due to her class being merged with the A division. Yellow belt Layla showed true determination to give her Jordanian opponent a tough match in the final, losing just 10-7 despite the seven grade gap in belts to take a well-earned silver medal.

In the child division (9-13 yrs), Devon Chan had to retire injured while Strike's most experienced youngster, Jasmine Bellamy, aged 11 from Keighley, narrowly missed out on the final by a controversial one-point punch which her opponent landed in the closing seconds of the semi-final, Jasmine having to settle for the bronze.

The Seniors B division for over-35s saw Strike's Mark Ainley claim gold over his opponent from Stevenage in the final, taking the fight 3-0.