The two karatekas have been added to the Commission, which was established to defend the interests of karatekas within the sport's governing body.

The Commission is currently chaired by WKF Executive Committee member Davide Benetello, with Brazilian Douglas Brose, Antonio Diaz of Venezuela, Nguyen Hoang Ngan of Vietnam and Austrian Simon Klausberger all members.

Panetsidou is a two-time European champion and has spent more than ten years of her career competing at the highest level.

The 27-year old has won three medals in the Karate 1-Premier League this year, including golds in both Rotterdam and Paris which has led her to sixth place in the world rankings. 

Twenty-six-year-old Kiyuna has claimed two consecutive gold medals in karate’s flagship event after his victories in the men's kata competitions in both Bremen and Linz.

The Japanese ace has claimed medals in all 10 of his appearances in major international competitions, and maintains an unbeaten record stretching back to 2013.

The two new members of the Commission were officially welcomed on stage by WKF President Antonio Espinós during the Ceremony.

The Most Valuable Players (MVPs) of the recent Karate World Championships in all six major categories were also revealed during proceedings.

The award for men's kumite went to the sport's biggest star Rafael Aghayev, after the Azerbaijani won his fifth world title at under 75 kilograms.

In the women's kumite competition, Austria’s Alisa Buchinger was honoured after she claimed a memorable gold medal on home soil in the 68kg.

Kiyuna received the MVP accolade in the men's kata category, rounding off a dream tournament, while another Japanese athlete, Kiyou Shimizu, was honoured as the outstanding competitor in women's kata.

Elsewhere, the men's Para-karate award went to Australian Raymond Morcomb while the women's Para prize was handed to Knarik Airapetian of Ukraine.