The Holborn Tigers at the World Union of Martial Arts Federation World Taekwondo Championships

NEWLY named Holborn Tigers captain Lilli Babak led by example as she returned from the World Union of Martial Arts Federation World Taekwondo Championships with two gold medals draped around her neck.

The 1st Dan black belt was handed more responsibility than ever before, with her teammates urged to turn to the 12-year-old if they had any problems during the tournament.

Among her new-found responsibilities, Lilli, who grew up in Soho, also helped coach alongside Master Rienzi Trento. And she was mat-side offering plenty of support and advice to clubmate Hanieh Seifikaran, 9, when the promising yellow belt with a green stripe won a silver medal.

But having been named team captain for the first time ahead of the World Championships, it was important that Lilli also delivered under pressure.

The young fighter has an emotional history at the prestigious competition, which returned to the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley earlier this month.

She won on her debut back in 2024, but was agonisingly beaten by just one point in the final last year. Lilli was as determined as ever to regain her crown as she toppled older, heavier opponents on her way to grabbing gold yet again.

In nail-biting fashion, the final went to sudden death. That’s where Lilli displayed fortitude beyond her years to land a roundhouse kick and win by a golden point.

Lilli then celebrated her triumph by taking part in an exhibition fight – again against an older, heavier and more experienced opponent – where she struck more gold, this time beating a fighter who weighed close to 15kg more than her.

Lilli Babak with younger brother Maximilian and Master Rienzi Trento at the tournament in Crawley

“I’m very happy to go home with two gold medals,” beamed Lilli. “I really wanted my title back. It’s about how you come back after a loss.

“In the fights I winded myself – I was so out of breath because I was kicking them with all I had and more. I really went far beyond my limit.

“I had three intense fights, and now I have my world title back!”

Praising his “ultimate fighter”, Master Rienzi said: “Lilli had to adapt her style against three very different opponents, and she beat them all.

“She is really relaxing into becoming an ultimate fighter. She never gets stressed, she just assesses the challenge that’s in front of her, and does whatever it takes to win. She was fantastic.”

Maintaining the Babak family dominance, Lilli’s brother Maximilian won his fight category – also known as kyrougi – for the third year in a row.

Reflecting on his latest victory, the 10-year-old 1st Dan black belt, who also won a bronze medal in his patterns, said: “I have now defended my title for two years in a row, which sounds crazy – that I am the world champion for the third year in a row now.

“The fights in the black belt category are really hard and all of them are great fighters, so you have to be really careful.

“It’s very different from the blue or red belt fights. One mistake and you could lose.”

Overall, the Holborn Tigers entered eight club members into the World Championships, where they competed in fighting and patterns – otherwise known as poomsae – in which a competitor is judged on their ability to perform a set sequence of movements.

Red belt Mya Durgahee and yellow belt with a green stripe Kamila Zelazko, who are both 10, won gold medals in their respective fighting categories, while red belt Ekai Tan, 9, scooped silver in both fighting and patterns.

Green belt Melissa Achaiban, 9, took a silver medal in fighting, and blue belt Samuel de Almeida Plamada, 9, earned a silver medal in fighting and a bronze medal in patterns.

After seeing every single one of his young Tigers return home with a medal, Master Rienzi said: “I’m so proud of each and every one of the kids. They helped us to finish in second place overall in the team rankings, which is a massive achievement.

“We’re going up against much more experienced clubs, who have been doing this for many, many more years than us – so to finish second is a pretty big deal.”