A YOUNG fighter from New Eltham finished runner-up in the Japan Karate Association England (JKAE) national championships at Walton-on-Thames.

Billy Crutchlow, 14, won through four hard fought bouts to reach the final where he eventually lost to last year’s runner-up Warren Tetsimola.

The pair couldn’t be separated by the four judges and it took nearly 10 minutes of excellent karate before Tetsimola finally bagged the decisive point which saw him crowned national champion, leaving Crutchlow to settle for silver.

Crutchlow trains Lewisham Shotokan Karate Club under Sensei Roy Tomlin and has been taking part in the sport for seven years.

The second dan has been in the England team for the past three years and has fought in European Championships in Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Serbia.

Unfortunately, the St Thomas Moore student was unable to claim a medal in any of these events, although his silver against Tetsimola will come as a welcome boost.