A rising Taekwondo star who was ranked number two in the country in her category last season, is to receive help from Bradford Council and SportsAid to help her reach her sporting potential.

Fourteen-year-old Natasha Burdock scooped a silver medal at the British National Championships which led to the ranking in her age and weight category and in the coming season she hopes to compete at several international competitions.

However, her main ambition is to gain selection to represent Great Britain at the 2012 World Junior (U17) Championships in Egypt. She would also like to be chosen for a Great Britain development camp as the sport still celebrates Jade Jones striking gold at the Olympics for Team GB.

Natasha, of Silsden , is now one of 24 athletes in the district who receive support through the SportsAid B-active Sporting Excellence Programme following nominations by their sports’ national governing bodies.

Athletes supported in previous years have also received sports science support at Leeds Metropolitan University to provide them with a better chance of realising their ambitions.

Councillor Andrew Thornton , the Council’s executive member for sport, said: “As part of our B-active campaign we do all we can to encourage young athletes in the Bradford district to fulfil their potential.

“With the help of SportsAid we are helping young athletes participate in their chosen sport and even reach the Olympic and Paralympics Games.”

Rob Clarke, regional development manager for SportsAid, added: “Natasha is a great example of one of Bradford’s up-and-coming athletes and we’re very proud to support her as she continues on her journey to the top of her sport.

“Our partnership with Bradford Council has yielded huge benefits for all the athletes involved and will hopefully give Natasha the boost she needs to realise her full potential. We very much look forward to following her progress over the coming months.”

In addition, seven ambassadors have represented the city and their sports by writing blogs about their lives, achievements and aspirations as young athletes, which can be seen by logging on to sportsaidbactive.co.uk.