Caden Cunningham admits that when he steps onto the mat to face taekwondo heavyweights who are half a foot taller than him, a little trepidation goes through his mind.

Then, the 21-year-old from Huddersfield reminds himself that he is more than capable of achieving his aim of becoming the youngest Olympic heavyweight champion in his sport and goes out there to kick them in the face.

You need a certain level of confidence to succeed in a sport where kicks to the head are not only allowed but encouraged, and Cunningham is planning to use that belief to fuel him to Olympic glory.

He said: “You think ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, he’s massive!’ Then as soon as I get there, I put my headguard on, I get in the mindset of ‘I’m going to kick you in the face’.

“For me, it’s about building an ego and pride when you get into the ring. A lot of these guys are bigger and older than me. I’m not small, but I’m not a big heavyweight. Most of these have five or six inches on me, and ten years’ experience. So most fights I’m the underdog and I go out there and think, I’ll kick you in the face, let’s get it on.

“For anyone to go to the Olympics and not go for gold, you should hold yourself to a higher standard. You almost want to manifest it, speak it into existence. But also, I decided I was going to go to these Olympics ten years ago, I didn’t decide I was going to go to participate, I’m going to win.

“This Olympics is an opportunity to fight the best I can in front of the most people. It’s the biggest mental and physical challenge I’ll go through in my taekwondo career, so what could go wrong? It’s the best opportunity I could get.

“I’m ready to unleash everything I’ve been working towards.”

Cunningham’s path to gold will not be easy. As it stands, he could face Niger’s Abdul Razzak Issoufou and Cuba’s Rafael Alba in his first two fights, both former world champions and Olympic medallists.

Where some might be daunted by that prospect, Cunningham says bring it on.

He said: “They are both big 6’8”, 6’9” guys. They are tough opponents but I rise to challenges. If I relax and perform right, I’m Olympic champion level. I’m confident I’ll be able to show that on August 10.

“I feel like you can never be fully prepared for something like this but I feel like I’m in a good head space, I feel like I know what’s coming. I’m going to go out there, it’s man versus man, we’re going to have a fight and make sure I’m the better man. Four fights, come away with my gold and all of it will have been worth it.”

Cunningham will not be short of support in the French capital, with lots of friends and family coming over.

And he also has two housemates joining him in the Olympic Village, with world champion Bradly Sinden and Rebecca McGowan also being named by Team GB.

In Sinden, Cunningham has the perfect role model as he looks to make Olympic history.

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024