Taekwondo at the Rio 2016 Olympics: All you need to know

The sport in brief

In contests comprised of three two-minute rounds, athletes attempt to score points with kicks to their opponent's head and kicks or punches to the torso. Each blow is worth between one and four points.

The four weight categories for both men and women follow a knockout format, culminating in the gold-medal match. All athletes beaten by one of the finalists enter a repechage to decide the bronze medals.

Anything new for Rio 2016?

Plenty. To encourage more action, spinning kicks to the trunk are now worth an extra point, while the competition mat has changed from a square to an octagon - giving athletes less space to retreat.

Sensors have been fitted in the headguards to allow for electronic scoring, and athletes can now select their own entrance songs and wear coloured trousers representative of their country's flag.

British prospects

The four-strong British team has been challenged by performance director Gary Hall "to surpass" the success of London 2012, when Jade Jones won gold and Lutalo Muhammad earned bronze. Jones starts as favourite to retain her -57kg title, while her house-mate Bianca Walkden is world and European champion at heavyweight.

Who are the favourites?

Bianca Walkden's boyfriend Aaron Cook now fights for Moldova after feeling "cheated" by his controversial omission from the British team for London 2012. He is world number one in the -80kg division.

Fiction has become fact for China's Wu Jingyu, who once appeared in a film as a future Olympic champion and will be attempting a record third successive gold in the -49kg category.

I didn't know that

Want to know the diet of an Olympic champion? Jade Jones keeps herself fuelled on the day of competition by eating plain pasta and jelly - separately, of course.

Previous British medallists

Three (one gold, two bronze)

Most recent British gold

2012 - Jade Jones (women's -57kg)

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