A nine-year-old boy from Basingstoke has been crowned a world champion in kickboxing after he represented Team GB in a competition in Hungary.

Max Farrell, who lives in Winklebury and goes to Castle Hill School, won gold in the -36kg category at the prestigious WAKO World Kickboxing Championships held in Budapest.

The event saw over 3,000 competitors from 65 nations competing for the top spots, making Max’s triumph a remarkable achievement.

Max, a Year 5 student, earned his place on Team GB earlier this year by winning the national championships in Nottingham.

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He trains with the Basingstoke Kickboxing Organisation (BKO) under George Peploe, whose coaching has been instrumental in Max’s success.

He is also a two-time British kickboxing champion in his weight category.

But it was the WAKO World Championships that proved to be the platform for Max to showcase his exceptional talent at the global stage.

He secured the gold medal with a dominant performance, defeating his opponent in style with a powerful kick and impressing with his creative footwork.

Max’s success was part of a larger achievement for BKO, as four other young athletes from the club were also selected to represent Team GB.

Among them, Matthew Neptune took home a silver medal in his category.

The other talented fighters from BKO who competed at the world championships include Emily Pearce, Oliver Doniesiewicz, and Danny Stewart, all of whom performed admirably on the global stage.

Posting on social media after Max's success, coach Peploe expressed immense pride in his young student.

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"Pressure makes diamond and Max is for sure a diamond," he wrote.

"For such a young boy to go out there with the pressure of the world championships and deliver like he did is truly inspiring. Through all his ups and downs Max has always kept his focus and worked so hard towards this goal.

"Seeing tears of joy as he hugs his mum and dad really put in perspective how much this means to him."