Tom Burns says his move to South Korea helped him qualify for Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

New Zealand taekwondo athlete Tom Burns believes his move to South Korea has paid off and helped him qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Two years ago, the then-18-year-old left his home of Christchurch to move to the birthplace of the sport to study at Korea Nazarene University in Cheonan.

After training at the university for the past two years, he booked his spot in Tokyo after winning the men's 68-kilogram category at the Oceania Olympic qualifier at the Gold Coast in Australia for his nation and being officially selected by the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

Burns will be the first male from New Zealand to feature in taekwondo at the Olympics since Logan Campbell and Vaughn Scott, who both competed at London 2012.

He is also thrilled about being able to receive a number on his dobok, with numbers given out at World Grand Prix events - held three times a year - and an Olympic Games.

His time at Korea Nazarene University, which specialises in taekwondo training, has helped Burns develop under the head coach Han Seung-yong.

Tom Burns at his Tokyo 2020 Olympic selection announcement in March ©Getty Images
Tom Burns at his Tokyo 2020 Olympic selection announcement in March ©Getty Images

"It's totally transformed me, in my opinion - your confidence when fighting goes through the roof," Burns said, as reported by New Zealand-based website Stuff.

"With my uni here, we've got fighters who receive invites to invitation only competitions internationally and win medals at big international competitions."

After visiting family, Burns caught one of the last flights out of New Zealand in late March before the nation's borders were closed and returned to South Korea. 

Since then, he has slowly been allowed to return to training, with South Korea being one of the countries that has contained the spread of COVID-19 best.

With the Tokyo Games moved back a year to 2021 due to the pandemic, Burns sees this as an opportunity to further improve.

"Another 12 months is great really, I've been here nearly two years now and the progress is going up and up," he added.

"Another year, I'm hoping for more of the same to keep climbing and keep improving."

Two spots from both Asia and Europe are still to be filled for taekwondo at the Games, with qualifiers in Amman in Jordan and in Russian capital Moscow yet to be rescheduled.