Viper’s fab four ready to take on the world’s best

Fourteen-year-olds Evie Hodgkinson and Elara Sands, alongside 11-year-old Frankie Sands and 13-year-old Oscar Milovsorov will jet off to Daytona Beach, Florida, to compete in the global martial arts event.

The Gornal athletes leave on July 26 before they participate in the three-day competition beginning on the 29th followed by a closing ceremony, and father of two of the athletes, Dean Sands, is extremely proud of their achievements.

He said: “It’s unexpected for the size of the club for us to be going and competing for Team GB.

“Because of the results we got in previous competitions, GB coach Chris Hemstock got in touch with Sensei Terry Jones and said I’d love your girls to start training, and eventually they got selected.

“As a proud father it’s something I never expected.”

A number of the athletes are going to make a holiday out of their trip after competing in continuous points sparring, kumite and potentially continuous sparring competitions against tough opposition and the best in the world.

Asked if the athletes are targeting success and to bring back a medal, Sands said: “We hope so, but I don’t want to get too confident.”

Fourteen-year-old Elara Sands has taken part in martial arts since she was three and will compete alongside her sister in Florida.

Elara is looking forward to the trip as she hopes to secure and bring back some silverware, although if she doesn’t, she won’t be disheartened.

She said: “I’m really excited for the trip. I’m really happy and glad that I’ve got the opportunity to go.

“I’m really proud of myself, my team-mates and my sister.

“I’d love to bring a medal back but I’m just focusing on the experience. I’ll definitely try to get a medal but I’m not expecting it.”

Asked if it’s one of her proudest achievements to be selected to represent Team GB, she said: “Definitely. I hope we can go to the ones next year and years to come.

“I think it’s the idea of doing really well in a sport I love and have done all my life. I would like to go to the Olympics one day and to get better and better.”

The martial arts ace enjoys the hard work behind the scenes and competing with her sister Frankie, who she’s been building towards the competition with.

“The winning is really nice because you feel like you’ve earned it when you’ve trained really hard,” she added. “And to get to go to competitions, it’s like a materialistic trophy of what you’ve done.

“The training for me is what motivates me.

“We are helping each other at home, at training and it’s nice to have someone I know doing it with me the whole time.”

At a recent competition in Hinckley, Viper Martial Arts & Fitness Club claimed four gold, nine silver and four bronze medals, which qualifies a number of their students for the European Games which will be held in London in August next year.