A TALENTED Taekwondo teacher from Inverclyde is hoping she can strike gold as she represents Scotland in an international competition next month.

Nicola Hendry will be jetting out to Madrid on October 26 to compete in the ITFU Open European Championships as part of team Scotland.

It will be the 40-year-old’s second time representing her country, after she pulled on Scottish colours for the first time earlier this year.

The Greenock woman first picked up the sport when she was 15, but took a break to manage her work and education commitments and only rediscovered her love of the martial art in recent years.

Greenock Telegraph: Talented Taekwondo teacher set to compete in European tournament

Nicola started teaching Taekwondo locally when she came back to the sport, and hopes that a good performance in Madrid will help inspire her young students.

She told the Tele:  “I enjoy competing and doing what I do and since I got back into it I’ve just kept continuously working away.

“It’s good to teach, I like passing on the knowledge I’ve picked up over the years to the kids.

“You can see the difference in the youngsters even in short amounts of time.

“It’s great to see them making progress and coming on.

“To go and be part of the Scotland team in Madrid is a special opportunity for me.

“I’m really excited.

“This competition is much bigger than the one I took part in before so it’s a step up.

“It’ll be a different experience altogether but I’m looking forward to it.

“I would like the kids to see me do well, so then I could get them going to competitions too."

Nicola is holding a fundraising race night in Greenock’s Morton Supporters' Club ahead of her trip to Spain, to help cover the costs of her journey and stay.

She says the support she has already received from her pupils and their parents has been incredible and has spurred her on to do them proud with her performances.

She added: “This might be a once in a lifetime experience to compete in a different country and represent Scotland.

“I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy and when I was younger dancing and things like that never appealed to me, I’m one of those rough and tumble people.

“I caught the bug for Taekwondo when I went and did my first competition and it’s never went away.

“Working commitments and college got in the way as I grew up but I’m so happy to have picked it back up.

“I’m hoping to come back with some medals whether it's gold, silver or bronze.

“I hope can inspire the kids and show them no matter how young or old you are, you can always set yourself a goal and achieve it.”

Anyone wishing to donate prizes for Nicola’s race night or sponsor the event can get in touch with her via email at n.hendry5@hotmail.co.uk