2020 Tokyo Olympics: Japan Olympic Committee to add 5 more sports

2020 Tokyo Olympics logo

The Japan Olympic Committee proposed to add 5 more sports to the list of sports to be played at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games. The 2020 Summer Games will see an additional participation from 474 athletes in over 18 new events.

Of the 8 sports shortlisted back in June, only 5 eventually made it to the list, which includes baseball/softball, karate, skateboard, sport climbing and surfing. Squash, wushu and bowling missed out on active participation at the 2020 mega event.

Under the "Olympic Agenda 2020" program adopted by the International Olympic Committee(IOC) last December, host cities are allowed to propose one or more additional events for their games.

Baseball/softball makes the cut

The Japan Olympic Committee today issued a statement:“This package of events represents both traditional and emerging, youth-focused events, all of which are popular both in Japan and internationally. This will serve as a driving force to further promote the Olympic movement and its values,” ABC News reports.

The Summer Games hosts are being given a chance to bring in one or more sports popular in their country to boost ratings and attract greater sponsorship. So therefore, Baseball and Softball are proposed to be added for the multi-nation tournament after having been out since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The men’s baseball will be consisting of 6 teams and a total of 144 players while the women’s softball will consist 6 teams and a total of 90 players.

Squash misses out

However, the President of World Squash Federation, Mr. N Ramachandran was dejected as the dream of having squash as a sport in the Summer Games cannot be realised now.

He was quoted as saying, “After our 12-year journey to join the Olympic Games programme, and the opportunity of a 'second chance' after the heartbreak of missing out in our first 2020 bid in Buenos Aires two years ago, I am utterly devastated on behalf of our great sport that our dream of taking part in the Tokyo Games cannot now be realised. I don't believe we could have done more to get our message across to both the Tokyo 2020 Games hosts and the IOC of how Squash could bring something special as an addition to the Programme.”

The list of the proposed sports has been submitted to the International Olympic Committee, which will make a final decision in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016.