Antonio Espinós, President of the World Karate Federation, discussed preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games with Olympic referees at a meeting in Paris ©WKF

Antonio Espinós, the President of the World Karate Federation (WKF), discussed preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with Games referees at a meeting in Paris.

The referees who will represent the sport at the Games, where karate will make its Olympic debut, evaluated the outcome of the final qualifying event in the French capital.

All of the key elements of the refereeing presentation at the competition were also reviewed.

"The Karate world can be sure that the referees who will officiate at the Games are the elite of our sport," said Espinós, who is also the European Karate Federation President.

Karate will make its Olympic debut at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo ©WKF
Karate will make its Olympic debut at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo ©WKF

"All the provisions have been put in place not only to have the best of the best in Tokyo but also to ensure that they will perform at their best there.

"I want to thank all the referees here today for their sacrifices and for their efforts to help us maintain the traditional standards of fairness and impartiality of our sport."

Headed by WKF Referee Commission chairman Javier Escalante, the meeting was held at the headquarters of the French Karate Federation.

It was said to have showcased the "professionalism, efficiency, and unity" of the WKF's refereeing body.