Asia Bailey (left) will be part of the Scottish Kyorugi team at thetaekwondo Commonwealth Championships this year.

Malta has become the first country to confirm it will attend the Commonwealths Taekwondo Championships being held in Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Stadium in November.

The Maltese acceptance was followed by Canada, Singapore and Australia who have all confirmed they will send teams.

Last month, invitations went out to 64 Commonwealth federations – from Antigua to Zimbabwe. Further entries are understood to be imminent from hosts Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

With 11 weeks to go, this brings the numbers participating to over 300 as large national teams are also expected from New Zealand, Pakistan, India and Malaysia.

It’s the first time the prestigious event will be held in Scotland and will be the biggest taekwondo event ever in the country.

The championships received a further boost when the Korea-based World Taekwondo Federation confirmed the Games would enjoy top G1 status.

This means it’s now a world ranking event and countries will be sending their strongest squads to Edinburgh in the hope of gaining Olympic ranking points.

Held every two years under the auspices of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and the Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (CTU), the championships involve world-class competitors and were first held in Australia in 2006.

The championships will feature Kyorugi (fighting), Poomsae (a defined set of movements incorporating blocking, kicking and striking techniques) and, for the first time, Para-Taekwondo.

It’s being hosted by Taekwondo Scotland, the sport’s governing body, whose chairman, William Darlington, said: “It’s great to see the enthusiasm for this event being shown by other countries.

“In fact, several Commonwealth members have told us they are coming and we know they’re going to have a great time.”