World Karate President: “Getting On To The Olympic Programme Has Been A Catalyst For Development”

In 2016, the International Olympic Committee agreed to add karate as one of five new sports on the programme of Tokyo 2020 Games. Antonio Espinos, President of the World Karate Federation, who led the long campaign for a place in the Olympics, speaks to iSportconnect TV about the milestone for his sport.

The WKF held its first World Championships in Tokyo 50 years ago.

Karate was absent from the list of four sports recommended by te Paris organisers for the 2024 Summer Games ( surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and breakdancing), even though France is karate’s  second-best performing nation of all time at the world championships, behind Japan.

In 2020, Paris will host the karate qualification tournament for Tokyo.