Hickman chops his way to the top

Dudley's Thomas Hickman has some work to do before he goes for gold in the World Karate Championships.

Hickman heads off to Malysia in October, looking to build on his bronze medal in the competition two years ago.

But the youngster from Woodsetton must first raise the £1,500 needed to pay for the trip, having competed in Morocco last time out.

The 17-year-old is an A-Level student at King Edward's Sixth Form College in Stourbridge and works at McDonalds part-time.

His rigorous karate training comes on top of that and now Hickman is looking to raise cash by washing cars outside of his club, the Inspire Gym in Brierley Hill.

The black belt, second dan is the hero to the children at the gym, after starting out in their shoes 12-and-a-half years ago.

But, every Saturday, the teenage black belt will 'wax on and wax off' vehicles that come through and then compete in a sponsored run on September 25.

And, when he heads overseas, his trainer Paul Campbell believes he can chop his way to the top.

He said: "Thomas is such a good inspiration for my other young kids coming through, I get him up in front of the class and tell them 'this is who I want you to follow.'

"He's dedicated and he's well on course to, at least, emulate what he did two years ago. But I think he's got the hunger to win it now.

"The first time, it was a shock, there were thousands of people in Morocco and he suffered from a bit of nerves.

"Now, he knows what is front of him."

Karate has been voted out of the Olympic Games schedule for London 2012 as well as 2016, leaving the World Championships as the pinnacle of a fighter's career.

But that has hurt the sport's ability to attract government funding and sponsorship, trainer Campbell insists.

He said: "Thomas knows he has to pay his way but we don't do enough to support these young kids - if they can't afford it, they just don't go.

"But, if they ever restore karate to the Olympics, these world championships will be where they will look to for competitors."