News Taekwondo will bring a host of innovations to the 2016 Olympic Games, the president of the sport’s International Federation has said during a visit to Rio de Janeiro Dr Chungwon Choue led a World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) delegation in meetings with Games organisers and a visit to the competition venue, Carioca Arena 3 in Barra Olympic Park, on 12-14 October Dr Choue highlighted the new octagon-shaped combat area that will make its Olympic debut in Rio, replacing the square version that was used up to the London 2012 Games By removing the corners that more defensive fighters could use to delay engagement, the new design will promote more continuous action The WTF president also spoke of the new electronic sensors that are placed within the protective headgear to ensure a more transparent scoring system, removing the necessity for referees to call head shots Electronic sensors will make the judging of head shots more accurate in Rio (Photo: Getty Images/Tom Pennington) “For Rio we are introducing an octagonal competition area which makes the athletes more active,” said Dr Choue “It will help introduce the dynamic action of taekwondo to the world “Also we will have a sensor system in the head gear, which will improve accuracy and transparency In London we did not have the sensor system in the headgear so it all depended on the referees But now, with this new equipment, the competition will be fairer and more  transparent ”Other innovations for Rio will include efforts to increase spectator engagement, such as higher-energy athlete walk-ins featuring music, and a WTF demonstration team to showcase the sport during intervals in competition Taekwondo will also participate in Rio 2016’s Sport Initiation project, which aims to promote sports to the Brazilian public via interactive demonstrations around the city and competition venues during the Games Dr Choue also highlighted plans by Olympic Broadcasting Services to use a lightweight tracking camera (which up to now has only been used in weightlifting at the Olympic Games) for taekwondo coverage “This will give spectators and TV viewers a clearer picture of taekwondo action,” said Dr Choue Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman with WTF President Dr Chungwon Choue (Photo: Rio 2016/Julio Stotz) The WTF delegation was in Rio for the Cidade Maravilhosa Open International, the first top-level WTF event to be staged in Brazil, which took place between 8-11 October Dr Choue said: “It’s my first time in Rio and I have seen that preparations for the Olympic Games are going wonderfully and planning for the taekwondo competition is going very well We are supporting the organising committee to ensure an excellent taekwondo competition in Rio “We had a wonderfully successful taekwondo competition at the London Olympic Games, but we believe the coming Games in Rio will be the best one yet for taekwondo The atmosphere in Rio is really wonderful and the organising committee is working very hard to ensure everything goes well ”Carioca Arena 3 is the most advanced of the new venues being constructed in Barra Olympic Park “I was very pleased to see that Carioca 3 is almost completed,” said Dr Choue “The taekwondo venue is located in the heart of the Olympic Park and I hope it will attract many spectators during the Games ”Carioca Arena 3 will host taekwondo, fencing and Paralympic judo (Photo: Getty Images/Mario Tama)