The ceremony took place at the NOC headquarters in Kyiv, where World Championship bronze medallist Anita Seriogina was joined by her coach Oleksandr Tonkoshkur and Ukrainian Karate Federation President Sergiy Levchuk.

Serogina earned a place on the podium in the women’s under-61 kilograms kumite category at karate’s showpiece event held in Linz, Austria, in October.

The sport is making its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and Bubka believes karate will be a welcome addition to the Games.

"I am sure the dynamic and entertaining sport of karate is worth its place at the Olympic Games," said Bubka, an Olympic gold medal-winning pole vaulter at the 1988 Games in Seoul. 

"We have amazing experience of the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015 where karate represented Ukraine side by side with the Olympic sports.

"I know your aim as a team is to qualify for Tokyo 2020, so I wish you all the best to achieve this goal."

Levchuk added: "We start our road to Tokyo from a solid point and are looking forward to the future years to win the privilege to become a part of the Olympic team for 2020."

Karate was added to the Tokyo 2020 programme alongside baseball and softball, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, predominantly due to its popularity in Japan.

World Karate Federation President Antonio Espinós said last month he hopes Tokyo 2020 will mark the start rather than the culmination of the sport's Olympic dream and has speculated that Budapest and Paris offer their best opportunities for inclusion at the 2024 Games.

Los Angeles is also in the running for the 2024 Games, with Rome's effort currently suspended.