Wrestling returns to Olympics

Wrestling will feature at the 2020 Tokyo Games
9 September 2013

Wrestling has been reinstated as an Olympic sport for the 2020 and 2024 Games but there was heartbreak for squash and baseball/softball.

The sport was one of the original disciplines at the Ancient Olympics but was excluded from the programme earlier this year.

That prompted a major reform programme, which did enough to convince the International Olympic Committee to reinstate wrestling.

Nenad Lalovic, the Serbian who took over as president of the international wrestling federation in February, said: "Today is the most important day in the 3,000-year history of our sport.

"We made mistakes but we decided to listen and learn and those mistakes will not happen again."

The result came as no real surprise - the initial exclusion of wrestling has caused uproar in countries such as Russia and the United States, and it is so popular in Japan it would have been unthinkable not to have it as part of the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Wrestling won in the first round of voting with 49 votes but there was disappointment for squash, which finished third with 22 votes, two behind baseball/softball.

World Squash Federation (WSF) president N Ramachandran admitted he was grief-stricken at the decision - it is the third time it has failed to become part of the Olympics.

He said: "This decision is heartbreaking for the millions of squash players around the world, particularly given the 10-year journey we have been on to join the programme.

"As the only new Olympic sport on the shortlist, we believed squash offered something for the future and I still hope that our inclusion may still be possible.

"The feedback we have received from many IOC members for our campaign and our presentation has been very positive and I am encouraged by the vote we received today. We have much to offer the Olympic Movement and I am hopeful that today is not the end of our Olympic journey."

Laura Massaro, the British world number two squash player, said she hoped the sport would continue to campaign for Olympics inclusion.

She said: "It is really disappointing news to hear that squash has again failed in its bid to make the 2020 Olympic Games.

"Everyone involved in the sport is extremely upset that we won't be part of the games in 2020. We will carry on learning from the bid process in the hope we can make Olympic status one day in the future."

Baseball/softball had the son of ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Antonio Castro, as part of its presentation team but it failed to be reinstated having been dropped after the 2008 Games.

Don Porter, the veteran head of the international softball federation, broke down in tears during his presentation to the IOC, but he had to settle for second place.

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