Taekwondo to adopt new technology

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Video - Taekwondo decision reversed

Taekwondo will use an electronic protector system and video replays at London 2012 in a bid to avoid the Beijing judging controversies.

The new system will be introduced at the October 2009 World Championships.

Last Saturday, in a controversial Olympic competition, Britain's Sarah Stevenson was eliminated when a scoring shot was not counted.

She appealed against the decision and, after an unprecedented reversal of the judges' decision, won a bronze medal.

The governing body's president Dr Chung Won Choue said the decision to use new technology in the sport was an attempt to "create a new image of taekwondo".

Plans are also afoot to introduce a video replay system at competitions, which will enable the immediate correction of the referee decision in case of controversies like Stevenson.

Currently, four judges award and deduct points by pressing buttons. At least two judges must award a point for it to register.

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Stevenson had lost her quarter-final to China's Chen Zhong but appealed after judges missed a final-round kick to the head which would have been enough to win.

The result was reversed after video footage was considered.

The incident came hot on the heels of similarly questionable scoring in Britain's Aaron Cook's defeat by China's Zhu Guo.

Dr Choue said: "We are now at the juncture of opening a new chapter to surge another wave of change in order to create a new image of taekwondo.

"Our new tasks are to make competitions more exciting, to ensure transparency and internationalisation of the administration of the WTF, and to continue transparent and fair competitions based on our experience at the Beijing Olympic Games."

The move to use more technology would not have helped Cuba's Angel Valodia Matos, though.

Matos, who won gold in the 2000 Olympics, shoved a referee and kicked him in the head in a furious reaction to being disqualified for taking too long to return to action after an injury.

Both Matos and his coach Leudis Gonzalez were swiftly handed a lifetime bans from all WTF championships, subject to confirmation by the International Olympic Committee.