The ATI Martial Arts member, who teaches at the 1st Salter Point Sea Scout Group Hall, finished second in the lightweight semi contact point sparring division at the 13th Open World Taekwondo Championships in Birmingham, England during July.
Duckworth said it was an “unreal experience” because it was the first time he had competed in a world championship event.
“It took a while to sink in about what I had done, it was just an unreal feeling,” he said. “I was pretty close to winning the gold medal; my opponent won by seven points, which is a difference of only a few kicks.
“There were six fights that I took part in during the tournament and they were all intense, especially the last two.”
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWDuckworth said he ranked the achievement as his best during his taekwondo career.
“I’ve won State and national titles but this is probably my best achievement because it came in an overseas competition,” he said.
“My mum had some success in the championships as well; she claimed bronze in the executive lightweight division for women over 35.”