In all, 64 countries and one refugee team will be represented on the mats at the Uzbek capital’s Universal Sports Palace.

Among those competing will be Syrian refugee Mohamad Mahmoud, who is based in Germany and fights in the men’s under-41 kilograms category.

He will represent the refugee team that will fight under the World Taekwondo flag.

A total of 20 weight categories will be contested, 10 for men and 10 for women.

This year’s World Cadet Taekwondo Championships are the fourth edition of the event.

The first was held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku in 2014, while the second was in Muju in South Korea in 2015 and the third took place in Egyptian city Sharm El-Sheikh in 2017. 

For the first time, Protector and Scoring System headgear, which is standard in the adult format, will be used at the event.

The Championships will provide many of the young athletes with their first world-level experience.

"The Championships offer your young players excellent, early experience on the global stage as they prepare to move up to the junior-level international circuit," World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said.

"It will also be an opportunity for our athletes to forge cross-border friendships that, in many cases, will last for their entire competitive careers."

Competition is due to run through to Saturday (August 10).