* Reaches quarterfinals of Pee Wee 25kg category at the 2nd Ultimate North East Taekwondo Championships at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, UK yesterday
* His second major junior tournament after winning the silver medal during the Whiston 1-2-1 Championships in Manchester on January 25
By Duncan Mlanjira
Five-year-old, Tiyamike Guba, son to Malawi’s Taekwondo Master Yamikani Guba, who took up the sport in December 2025 — setting himself a big goal to win more medals than dad — continues to establish his mark in the sport in following his father’s legacy.
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On January 25, the 5-year-old began his World Taekwondo journey with a remarkable achievement in his first major junior tournament at the Whiston 1-2-1 Championships in Manchester in which he won the silver medal.
Yesterday, he participated in the Pee Wee 25kg category at the 2nd Ultimate North East Taekwondo Championships at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre in which he reached the quarterfinals but lost 2-1 in a closely contested encounter.
The up-and-coming superstar launched his taekwondo training at Team Warrior Taekwondo Club having been inspired by his father — who is decorated with multiple medals he has accumulated over the past 15 years.
“Tiya said he is enjoying the sport and is looking forward to gaining more experience through future fights,” said the father in an interview. “He is all geared up for the next competitions, which will be the Manchester Open and the Barnsley 1‑2‑1 Championships.
“We are extremely proud of his achievement and we will give him all the opportunity to rise and be recognised in world taekwondo sport.”
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.
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.
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.
The father Yamikani Guba