Tuesday 17 January 2017 13:56, UK
Double Olympic silver medallist Lutalo Muhammad has urged taekwondo starlet Harleen Kaur to stay true to herself in order to fulfil her Olympic dream.
Multi-talented martial artist Kaur makes her senior international debut at the German Open in Hamburg this weekend after making the transition to taekwondo from karate and kickboxing.
'Fighting Machine Harleen' told Sky Sports last week of her Olympic aspirations, and Muhammad - the most successful British male taekwondo fighter in history - hopes the 18-year-old can seize her opportunity to impress in Germany.
"My advice to Harleen is to soak everything in, stay true to herself and take this opportunity," the Walthamstow Warrior told Sky Sports.
"There is a reason why she has been Talent ID'd and that's because of the skills she has acquired and demonstrated in kickboxing and karate.
"Those skills are directly transferrable to taekwondo, and if she stays true to her style, stays true to what has given her success, it will continue to give her success.
"She must also try and seize this opportunity in what is a newish sport for her. This could be an opportunity for her to go on and win Olympic medals and there is nothing bigger than that."
Muhammad and Kaur are ambassadors for sports diversity charity Sporting Equals and both have been shortlisted for accolades at the forthcoming British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards.
Kaur's role models include Britain's double Olympic -57kg champion Jade Jones and world champion Bianca Walkden, and Muhammad says the duo are standard bearers for the world-class GB Taekwondo programme
"Jade and Bianca are fantastic role models for any female coming into the sport," he said.
"The work ethic that those two have is incredible. They are always doing extra training and are probably two of the best examples of how hard work can translate into results.
"Hard work really is the ethos of GB taekwondo and it is spread out throughout the entire academy but those two really stand out."
To cast your vote in the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards visit here
