Zack Sarsoza (centre) with his mum Donna and dad Saimoore
Fulham taekwondo coach Saimoore Sarsoza will have to wait a little longer before lighting up his post-fight ritual Cuban cigar.
His son Zack is on course to be selected for the GB cadet squad at the upcoming European Championships after impressing the GB coaches up in Manchester last week.
Zack, who fights out of the Kixstar Dragon club in Haldane Road, has won numerous gold medals in recent months to put himself into contention for a spot on the plane to Bulgaria.
The Little Warrior, as he is known around the club, narrowly missed out on a place at the last European Championships after losing in the semi-finals of the GB qualifiers in 2017.
He will now train in the GB Cadet Wider Team Programme, from which the fighters will be selected to represent the country at the international summer tournament in June.
“Zack has come on leaps and bounds in the past year and continues to improve,” said the fourth Dan black belt coach Saimoore. “All of the flights across Europe and the hundreds of miles on the road have all been worth it. Zack is one of the number one cadet fighters in the country and now we all have our fingers crossed that he makes it into the GB squad.”
Gold rush
Zack picked up a gold medal in his last tournament appearance at the Ultimate Open in Barnsley.
Team-mates Esher Benedicto, Philip Bryna Custodio and Erikas Luckauskas also came back from South Yorkshire with gold medals hanging from their necks.
Coach Saimoore deservedly enjoyed his celebratory Cuban cigar after his team won four golds, two silvers and a bronze.
Will he be striking a match to light his cigar come the GB squad announcement for the European Championships?
Keep up to date with Zack and Kixstar Dragon club on Twitter.
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