Grand Master René Bundeli, former member of the World Taekwondo Council and Honorary President of Swiss Taekwondo, has died at the age of 79.

It has been an action-packed start to 2024 for the Australian Taekwondo National Performance Pathways program and the tangible outcomes already appear promising, reports Taekwondo Australia.

Rio 2016 bronze medallist Kimia Alizadeh has been introduced by the Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation as a new member of the Bulgarian national taekwondo team after representing the Refugee team from 2021.

Donia Abu Taleb has become the first female taekwondo athlete from Saudi Arabia to qualify for the Olympic Games. She reached the final of the women's -49 kg category at the Asian Qualifying Tournament to book her place at Paris 2024.

Gambian taekwondo athlete Alasan Ann has opened a taekwondo school in Andover, Minnesota, USA. Ann, from Maple Grove, Minnesota, represents his father's country, Gambia, and won an Olympic quota in February 2024 through the African qualifiers.

World Taekwondo issued a statement on diversity, equality and inclusion on 21 March, the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The President's Cup held last week at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, Costa Rica, was a true spectacle of athletic prowess and international camaraderie. Over 1200 athletes from 33 different countries gathered to compete in Poomsae and Kyorugi.

The Kyorugi Taekwondo competition at the 2023 African Games took place from 17 to 20 March. Many of the athletes who qualified for Paris 2024 competed in Accra.

Omar Yaser Ismail made history over the weekend at the Asian Qualifying Tournament in Tai'an, China, becoming the first Palestinian taekwondo athlete to earn a ticket to the Olympic Games.

Seven countries won Olympic licences for the Paris 2024 Paralympics at the Asian Qualifiers held in Tai'an, China on 17 March, with Thailand as the luckiest country with three Olympic berths.

The Asian Taekwondo Qualifiers took place on 15-16 March in Tai'an, China, with 16 finalists securing their places at Paris 2024. Asian champion Song Zhaoxiang (China) and runner-up Arian Salimi (Iran) reached the men's +80 final. Both won Olympic licences. Song became the sixth Chinese taekwondo athlete to earn an Olympic berth, and China will have the most athletes in Paris.

After last week's European Taekwondo Qualifiers, it is now the turn of the Asian Qualifiers to determine two more taekwondo athletes in each weight class who will secure a place at Paris 2024. The Asian Qualifiers will begin on 16 March in Tai'an, China.

The President's Cup of the Pan American Taekwondo Union will begin on 14 March in Costa Rica. In a competition that will have the participation of more than 1,100 athletes from all over the American continent, the G-2 is set to be a transcendental event.

Croatia has won its third Olympic quota in taekwondo. On the final day of the European Qualification Tournament, 2023 World Champion in men’s 74 kg category  Marco Golubic defeated Sweden's Ali Alian to reach the final and secure his place at Paris 2024 in the men's -68 kg category. Golubic joins Lena Stojkovic (women's -49k g) and Ivan Sapina (men's +80 kg) who qualified through the rankings.

Tokyo 2020 champion Maksim Khramtsov (AIN), runner-up Tatiana Minina (Individual Neutral Athlete), bronze medallist Avishag Semberg (Israel) and Rio 2016 bronze medallist Kimia Alizadeh (Refugee Team) didn't qualify for Paris 2024 directly through the rankings.