* Earned his first silver medal yesterday at official British Taekwondo competition, the Whiston 1-2-1 Championships at BeActive Leisure Centre, Manchester yesterday
* Backed by the full support of mum, dad, coaches and friends, Tiya showed courage and determination and he delivered!
By Duncan Mlanjira
At just 5 years old, Tiya Guba is following the legacy set by his father, Malawi’s Taekwondo Master Yamikani Guba when he won his first-ever silver medal yesterday at official British Taekwondo competition, the Whiston 1-2-1 Championships at BeActive Leisure Centre, Manchester.
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In an interview, the proud father said Tiya begun his World Taekwondo journey just in December 2025 setting himself a big goal: “I want to win more medals than Dad!”
The father boasts of a huge medal treasure trove and just in the 2023/24 season alone, he claimed 11 gold, 8 silver, and 1 bronze that earned him the Army Taekwondo Dan Player of the Year 2024 and the nomination for the British Army Sports Awards 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, which he and the other nominees finished as runners-up.
The son Tiya — dubbed ‘The Young Warrior’ — is thus following in his father’s legacy and after just two months of training at Team Warrior Taekwondo Club, he stepped onto the mat and made his mark.
Yamikani Guba, a Sergeant in the British Army’s 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, captains the UK Armed Forces Team and he currently recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture from a competition in Estonia mid last year.
“Tiya proudly says; ‘since Dad can’t fight and compete, I will do it and represent him’” said the father. “Backed by the full support of his mum, myself, coaches and friends, Tiya showed courage and determination — and he delivered!”
His message to the son: “Go Tiya! The journey has just begun and the future looks bright!”
Along with the medals he has accumulated over the past 15 years, Guba has also received numerous awards, the last one being two-british-army-sports-accolades/ — the Sportsperson of the Decade for Army World Taekwondo award and the Coin of Excellence from CEO of British Army Sports.
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