A taekwondo qualifying competition for the London Olympics is to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 30, the World Taekwondo Federation announced.

The WTF World Taekwondo tournament will double as a qualifier for the 2012 Games with more than 340 athletes from more than 100 countries competing at the Sarhadchi Olympic Center.

A total of 60 international referees, including 10 review juries, will supervise the tournament. And, for fairer judging, electronic protectors, an electronic scoring system and instant video replay system will be used, according to the WTF.

Eight gold medals are up for grabs at the London Olympics ― under -58kg, -68kg, -80kg, and over -80kg for men and under -49kg, -57kg, -67kg and over-67kg for women.

A total of 128 athletes ― each country can send up to four athletes ― will be able to compete for top honors at the London Olympics.

The British Olympic Association has already secured the full four places with automatic qualification as a home nation.

Twenty-four tickets to London will be determined next week in Azerbaijan through the four-day competition. The top three athletes in each weight category will secure their country’s berth in the Olympics.

The rest of the places will be decided through regional qualification rounds. Asia, America and Europe are each allocated 24 spots for the London Games. And Africa holds 16 seats while Oceania has eight places. Four seats will remain wild cards.

The Asian qualification tournament is scheduled for Nov. 4-6 in Thailand, and the Pan American qualification is due Nov. 18-20 in Mexico. European and African qualification rounds are scheduled for Jan. 20-27 in Russia and Jan. 11-12 in Egypt, respectively.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)