Matthew Broadhead a huge hit at worlds
Karate ace Matthew Broadhead is on top of the world after seeing his dream come true.
The 23-year-old has become a double world champion after claiming both the individual 85kg-plus crown and the team title at the Karate World Championships held in Koper, Slovenia.
Held over four days, the tournament hosted 42 countries, with more than 1,200 athletes competing across kata and team competitions.
Broadhead, from Burntwood, was part of the England A team for rotation fighting, along with Francis Barham and Chris Rowan.
The trio reached the final after beating sides from Poland and the Czech Republic.
On the second day of the tournament, Broadhead started his route to the individual championship glory with a victory against Hungary's Tomas Penzes.
He then prevailed over USA's Ryan Gonzales, Robert Manea from Romania, and Italian Maycol Cucco to reach the final.
On finals day, he beat Brazil's Paulo Santos to seal the individual gold medal and, less than one hour later, was celebrating more success in the team competition following a 5-4 win over Italy.
Broadhead said: "It was pretty amazing to have a dream come true. The level of competition was really high, some of the Hungarians work for the police in Budapest so they know what they're doing.
"Romanians are often the best fighters because they are government-funded as well, so it was really tough.
"There was a lot of waiting around on the last day, but there was only about 25-30 minutes between the two finals.
"It was great to win the single title, but to do it with the team afterwards was really special."
Broadhead took up karate at the age of six with Chase Karate Club, progressing to the national and international stage under the tutelage of Alison Hughes and Neil Poynton.
Now, after tasting success at the world championships, he is desperate for more silverware.
He said: "I started there when I was six and I've been there ever since, really. I go out to Romania for an international tournament in December and there's another championship in Dublin next year.
"Now I've won one, I can't let up. The aim for me now is to keep winning tournaments."
