According to the body, the submissions "outlined para-taekwondo's strong foundation, growth potential and global reach" ahead of the IPC Governing Board's vote on the 2020 Paralympic Programme in Berlin in October.

"This is a historic moment for Para-taekwondo and for me personally," said WTF President Chungwon Choue.

"Getting Para-taekwondo into the Paralympic Games is a personal passion of mine and priority number one for the WTF.

"We hope that the IPC Governing Board will see that we are committed to being a valuable and loyal partner and that the unique qualities of our sport will add real value to the Paralympic programme.

"We have been working very closely with the IPC and the IOSDs to make sure that the sport develops in line with best practices, but there is still room for further development.

"We are focused on improving the quality, quantity and universality of the sport and we are confident that if we have the honour of being included on the Paralympic Programme, fans will be treated to a fair, safe and exciting spectacle in Tokyo in 2020."

Taekwondo is running alongside badminton in its search to be entered into the Paralympic programme for Tokyo 2020.

During the IPC Governing Board's meeting in October, the world governing body for the Paralympic Movement will review all 22 Paralympic sports before deciding upon a final programme for the Games.

The 5th WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships proved a huge success in Moscow last month ©ITG





"It is our aim to make Para-taekwondo as accessible to as many people around the world as possible and we have established a strong foundation to achieve that," said Choue.,

"We have fully integrated para-taekwondo within the same structure as taekwondo allowing Para-athletes to join existing taekwondo clubs where there is very little difference between their training and minimal equipment required.

"We are working closely with our 206 MNAs (Member National Associations) to encourage and incentivise them to promote Para-taekwondo within their countries and realise the full potential of the sport.

"If we had the honour of being included in the Paralympic programme it would act as a catalyst for even greater growth.

"As the first combat sport in the Paralympic Games accessible to the full range of upper limb deficiency and arm amputee athletes, Para-taekwondo would open the Games to new audiences, new markets and a whole new generation of athletes."

This final submission comes just a month after the WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships were held in Moscow.

The tournament, the fifth edition of the Championships, saw 123 athletes from 40 nations, across five IPC regions registered for the event, with medals won from athletesof 24 of these countries.

Male and female athletes competed in three weight categories across four classes defined by the WTF's recently updated Para-Taekwondo classification rules and regulations.

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