A teenager from Reading has been selected to travel with the PUMA England squad to the upcoming Taekwondo World Cup in Slovenia.

A popular martial art around the world, 13-year-old Megan Lockley has managed to progress to first degree black belt in less than seven years- and now stands just three months away from competing for her country.

Not her first time fighting on foreign soil, Ms Lockley took part in the Holland Cup earlier in the year, winning two silver medals for sparring and patterns.

Reading Chronicle:

Despite her fast rise to the international stage, she is still training locally with Reading Taekwondo in Theale, as well as Home Counties Martial Arts in Twyford and Kickboxing in Thatcham.

Speaking ahead of her trip in the autumn, the teen said: “After the Holland Cup I'm really excited to be competing internationally again and this is about the biggest competition out there.

"It's always interesting to go up against people from other countries and see how their techniques and styles differ, so I will be taking everything in for the whole week and bringing some valuable experiences back home with me. This is going to be a very difficult tournament, but I'm training very hard, enjoying the challenge and I will put everything into it."

If you would like to support Ms Lockley, click here to find her Go Fund Me page.