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Angling gold medal spurs international hopes

BBC Charlie smiles at the camera, wearing a white and blue cap and a black coat with his fish rod hanging over the lake in the background.BBC
The youngest member of the under-15s England squad, said winning a gold medal was "brilliant"

A young angler has returned from the Youth Angling World Championships with a gold medal.

Charlie, 14, from Bristol competed in the England under-15 squad in Serbia.

The team secured the gold with a six-point lead ahead of Spain and France, and one of Charlie's fellow anglers back in Bristol says he also hopes to represent England in the future.

Charlie, who has been fishing since he was four years old, said: "Going up on that podium and getting a gold medal with all the lads was brilliant."

He added: "When we went out there it was in my head that hopefully we'd get a medal, but a gold medal is just fantastic.

"We had a good enough chance as anyone but you got to put the hard work in and that's what you get out."

Charlie surrounded by his fishing equipment, sitting on the end of a pier with his fishing rod over the water. He wears a dark hoodie and a grey cap.
Charlie fishes at Bitterwell Lake in South Gloucestershire

Charlie's father, Paul, said his son had done "very well".

"Seeing how he's dedicated himself to his preparation over the last two years really has been great.

"I think that's one of the things any aspiring young match angler has to have to fish for England."

Mr Isaacs, who travelled with the England squad to Serbia for the contest in August, said competitions are a lot harder than people realise.

"When you go abroad you're not just dealing with different species but you're also dealing with lots of different conditions," he said.

"For example in Serbia this year it was nearly 40 degrees, so you're up early in the morning, getting on the bank, setting up and then dealing with the heat - then having to do it all over again the next day."

Kai, Harvey and Jack smile at the camera, all wearing black jumpers with Kai and Jack wearing caps. Bitterwell Lake is seen in the background.
Kai (L), Harvey (C) and Jack (R) are part of the Bitterwell Lake junior angling team

Anglers Kai, Harvey and Jack are part of the Bitterwell Lake junior angling team.

Kai, 14, said one day hopes to join Charlie in the England angler squad.

"My grandad started me off when I was younger and I've just got more serious from there," he said. "I need to keep practising and keep fishing."

Jack, 14, said he also has hopes of representing his country in the future.

He said: "Fishing is a safe space for me - I can get away from any chaos that's happening at home and just chill."

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