A PAIR of teenage girls will be putting their fighting spirit to the test as they battle it out at the British Taekwondo National Championships on Sunday.

Laila Arbane and Abigail Gardner, who train with Dorset Taekwondo Association, have spent months preparing for the competition, which is being held in Manchester.

Laila, who is a pupil at Bournemouth School for Girls, said: “When I think about it I get nervous. I’m just hoping I’ll use all the techniques I have learnt over the last few weeks.”

Abigail, who is a pupil at Twynham School, added: “It’s the biggest competition we’ve ever done. I’m a bit nervous but I’m really looking forward to it.”

The girls, who are both 15-years-old and in the final year of studying for their GCSEs, have been training for around 10 hours a week in the lead-up to the big day. Their gruelling regime includes early morning sessions before school and evening classes.

Their coach Marcin Tata said: “I’m very proud of them both. They have worked really hard and have improved so much. As long as they do their best that’s all that matters.”

The girls have been practising Taekwondo for three years and are both red tags.

Abigail will be competing in the junior under 55k novice category and Laila will be competing in the junior under 59k novice category.