BASINGSTOKE Shin Gi Tai Martial Arts Academy coach Lindsay Andrews has became a karate world champion for the second time after success in Brazil.

Andrews took part in the Women’s Veteran’s Open Style Kata and faced some stiff competition from other Europeans and, as expected, competitors from Brazil and Argentina.

She made it through to the finals, leading the competition by a narrow margin of 0.1.

Andrews performed seienchin kata and was fairly happy with her performance.

On this occasion the group was mixed kata styles and the shotokan katas seemed to be scoring generally better than shito ryu, which meant she needed to make some tough decisions as to which kata to perform in the finals the following day.

Having such a small lead, Andrews knew if she choose the wrong kata to perform or made a tiny mistake, her dreams of being world champion for a second time would be over.

The top six competitors went through to the finals and having spoken to England national squad coach Ian Cuthbert, she decided to stick with her favourite kata anan.

The tension around the stadium grew and having been drawn sixth, Andrews had to control her nerves and watch others score well before taking to the mat.

Andrews said: “I remember shaking like a leaf when my name was called, but then all the training kicked in and it was like going into auto-pilot. I felt I did well, but I did not know if it was enough.”

The winners were announced in reverse order and she added: “When they called out second place and it wasn’t me, I knew I’d either done really badly and blown it completely or got the gold.

“I have to say hearing my name called out and realising what I’d done it was such a huge relief. I was ecstatic.”

After winning gold, Andrews returned more relaxed to the mat and helped the ladies’ veterans Kata team to a bronze medal.