Ethienne Brunet started as the Canadians meant to go on as he won the K44 under 75 kilogram category with a victory over compatriot Kelvyn Pincherli in the opening demonstration event, before Lawrence Pham-Hung repeated the feat in the K44 under 61kg division by beating teammate Anthony Capello.

While Capello and Pincherli were second best in the demonstration events, they proved to be too strong when it really mattered.

Pincherli sealed the K44 under 75kg title with a win against Spain's Santiago Malvar Fernandez, and Capello then followed suit in the under 61kg category.

The event itself was an historic one for the sport as it marked the first time that the new ranking system was implemented.

The system was launched in keeping with its pledge to guarantee the highest level of competition at Tokyo 2020, after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed Para-taekwondo would be added to the programme after a Governing Board meeting in Abu Dhabi last month.

2015 is set to be a busy year for the sport of para-taekwondo after it was given a spot on the Paralympic programme at Tokyo 2020 ©WTF

The IPC's decision represented a major step forward for a sport that continues to develop at a rapid speed, with 2015 set to be a busy year for the discipline.

"It is a great honour for the WTF to be included in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games," World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) President Chungwon Choue said at the time.

"We are very grateful to the IPC for granting us this privilege and we are committed to showing them that they made the right decision to put their faith in us."

The European Para-Taekwondo Championships, which will be an open event for the first time, is due to take place in Chisinau, Moldova, in April, and the WTF also announced that Asia and Africa will both host their inaugural continental championships this year.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
December 2014: New world ranking system for Para-Taekwondo to be launched at Canadian Open