A series of rule changes have been accepted at the WTF General Assembly ©WTF

A series of rule changes have been approved at the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) General Assembly in Burnaby in Canada in order to address a number of issues raised following the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

WTF President Chungwon Choue admitted that "many members of the global taekwondo family had complained" following Rio 2016.

The sport’s membership highlighted the over-use of front leg kicks and Protector Scoring System (PSS) as two of the main problems.

As a result, the WTF has agreed to implement a number of alterations, including competitors being awarded an extra point - from one to two - for kicks to the body, due to fully come into effect at the 2017 World Championships in Muju in June.

The WTF has also accepted an extension the margin at which matches can be ended, from 12 points to 20.

The minus half-point penalty will be scrapped, leaving gam-jeom -minus one point - as the only penalty of its kind.

It has been proposed that automatic penalties be removed for pushing, allowing for competitors to push and kick.

The WTF hope this will encourage more combination attacks, with some within the sport criticising some of the bouts at the Olympics in the Brazilian city for lacking action and being too passive.

The rule alterations are set to fully come into effect at next year's World Championships in Muju ©WTF
The rule alterations are set to fully come into effect at next year's World Championships in Muju ©WTF

Under the changes, due to be "tentatively" launched in January, the golden point round, used to decide the winner if the regulation period has ended with the players all-square, will be halved from two minutes to one.

Coaches will no longer be allowed to appeal video replays for face kicks, it has been announced, but they have been given an increase in video quotas as they will now get one per match.

The rule alterations followed an extensive consultation process, with involvement from 30 elite coaches from around the world, as well as the heads of the Technical Committee, Coach Committee and Referee Committee, and the WTF Council.

The WTF had identified four key areas for improvement going forward, including making the sport easier to understand for television viewers and that officiating needed to be better.

Passivity was also outlined as a concern, along with claims that there are too many stoppages during contests.

Choue said the changes proved taekwondo was "fair and transparent" and claimed it was now time for the sport to "excite and dazzle".

It was also announced following the 27th General Assembly in Burnaby that Djibouti has become the 207th member of the WTF.