Karate will make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 after Japanese organisers selected it as an additional sport alongside baseball/softball, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing.

That selection did not guarantee a place in the French capital, however, and the WKF learnt that they had not been put forward by Paris 2024 earlier this month.

Sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing were all retained with baseball/softball also removed and breakdancing controversially added.

The decision still needs to be ratified by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who will discuss the proposal before it goes in front of their Executive Board between March 26 and 28.

Provisional approval could then be granted at the IOC Session in Lausanne in June, before Executive Board confirmation in December 2020.

This final stage would be four months after the conclusion of Tokyo 2020, with karate frustrated that the Paris sports have been proposed before they had the chance to show off on the Olympic stage in Japan.

It is widely thought that the IOC deliberations are simply a rubber-stamping exercise, but the WKF have refused to give up by launching its #Karate2024 campaign.

The campaign aims to "showcase the unity of the sport and requests the inclusion of the discipline in the list of additional sports to be added to the programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024".

Fans are encouraged to get involved by using the hashtag and spreading the message "KARATE: Olympic sport".

"The WKF aims at capitalising on the tremendous uproar that the proposal of excluding karate from the Paris 2024 programme has caused among sports enthusiasts all over the world," the WKF said.

A main thrust of the campaign is the #TsukiForKarate2024 challenge where fans are asked to perform their best "tsuki" punch in defence of karate's Olympic place.

Videos and pictures of this are encouraged to be posted on social media with both Paris 2024 and the WKF tagged in.

Fans can also send their contributions to [email protected] with prizes set to be handed out to the best entries.

"Now it is the moment to show the world how strong we are," said WKF President Antonio Espinós. 

"Now it is the time to demonstrate our unity and to take action against a decision which we deem unfair since we have been excluded even before having the opportunity to show the added value that we can bring to the Olympic Games.

"I encourage all National Federations, all officials, referees, coaches, and all the millions of karatekas around the world to join us and post their 'tsuki'. 

"It is the symbol of the greatness of our sport and it will be the most visual argument for our common goal of being in Paris 2024."

The WKF had declared themselves "deeply saddened" to miss out on Paris.

"Our sport has grown exponentially over the last years, and we still haven't had the chance to prove our value as an Olympic sport since we will be making our debut as an Olympic discipline in Tokyo 2020," said Espinós at the time.

"Over the last months, we have worked relentlessly, together with the French Federation, to achieve our goal of being included in Paris 2024. 

"We believed that we had met all the requirements and that we had the perfect conditions to be added to the sports programme; however, we have learned today that our dream will not be coming true."