4 nations earn wild card spots

Cambodia, Mali, Panama and Yemen have each received one invitational taekwondo place, for the 2012 London Olympic Games, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) said Thursday.

The decision was made Saturday after months of three-party commission meetings among the International Olympic Committee, the Association of National Olympic Committees, and the WTF.

With the wild-card allocations, the taekwondo competition this summer will feature 128 athletes from 63 countries. There were 64 nations competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 60 at the 2004 Athens Games and 51 in Sydney in 2000. A total of 32 medals will be up for grabs.

Cambodia’s Davin Sorn in the women’s over 67 kilogram class; Mali’s Daba Modibo Keita, in the men’s over 80 kilogram division; Panama’s Carolena Jean Carstens Salceda in the women’s under 49 kilogram category and Yemen’s Tameem Al-Kubati in the men’s under 58 kilogram tournament will now head to the London Games.