TAEKWONDO star Jacob Barnett has vowed to make the most of his maiden appearance at this summer’s World University Games.

Held biennially in major cities across the globe, the World University Games (WUGS) sees athletes come together to compete across numerous sports with the Summer Universiade the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics.

The Bradford-born athlete is one of nearly 10,000 participants from 170 countries expected to compete at this year’s edition, held in Chinese Taipei from August 19-30.

At the last Games held in Gwangju, South Korea, Team GBR recorded its biggest medal haul in ten years, with 12 per cent of athletes medalling – a total of 11 podium finishes split between three gold, four silver and four bronze.

And Barnett, who has been in the sport for 14 years and learning much of his trade at Quest Taekwondo, says to pull on the red, white and blue of Great Britain fills him with pride and spurs him on to do his very best in the competition.

“It’s a great honour, representing my country and my university – I’m proud of that,” said Barnett, who is studying Sports Science at Leeds Beckett University.

“This will be my first World University Games, although I did go to the European University Games last year.

“I spoke to one of my friends who has been to the WUGs before and he said it was a great competition – it’s a good experience as well and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m hoping to get a medal as well, definitely – that would be nice!”

The 21-year-old is already a gold medallist in the 2016 British Student Nationals and the European University Games in the same year, and believes he is capable of going the extra mile to walk away from the WUGs triumphant.

And he is also determined to soak up the atmosphere of being in a multi-sport format, as well as embracing the occasion and culture of the host nation.

Team GBR is preparing to send its largest delegation to the Games since 2011, with over 110 athletes set to compete across 13 sports, and the likes of Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill having previously appeared at the Games back in 2005.

“If I prepare the best I can and perform the best I can on the day, then anything is possible,” added Barnett. “I’ve never been to Asia or the Far East before either. It will be great to mix with the different sports and different nationalities.

“I recently competed in the Dutch Open back in March and just missed out on a medal – I was beaten by a couple of points – it didn’t go to plan but I learned a lot from that as well.

“Now it’s back in training and I’m working towards the WUGs.”

* British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education (HE) sport in the UK, organising leagues and competitions for more than 150 institutions across 52 different sports. Over 110 athletes will represent the GB team at the 29th FISU Summer World University Games 2017 from 19-30 August.