BUENOS AIRES: From an ignominious Olympic exit to a Games return in less than eight months, wrestling can complete a remarkable turnaround when the International Olympic Committee next month votes in one new sport for the 2020 Games.
Wrestling was surprisingly taken off the 2020 Olympics by the IOC Executive Board in a February vote as the IOC looked to refresh its sports programme.
It has since battled back into contention, joining squash and baseball/softball as the three candidates on a shortlist for one spot on the programme of the 2020 Olympics and a cut of the Games’ millions of dollars of revenues.
The IOC will select the one sport at its session in Buenos Aires on September 8.
For wrestling, clear frontrunners to win back the spot, it will be the culmination of a frantic seven-month period that saw more changes to rules, categories and the administration than in entire decades before combined.
The decision to exclude wrestling, a sport that was part of the ancient Olympics as well as every modern Games apart from 1900, drew almost instant support from senior IOC members themselves.
“I have the impression that the international federation has understood very well the messages sent to them,” IOC Vice President Thomas Bach said last month.
“The international federation has drawn its conclusions. It is now here with a new president, new programme and new ideas for the sport. That is why I personally believe that wrestling has good chances to come through the vote in September.”
The decision also released a wave of support from wrestling powerhouses including the United States, Russia and Iran, among others, as well as senior politicians in many countries, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
“I am quite optimistic because otherwise I would stay at home,” Nenad Lalovic, international federation (FILA) president, said this week. “I am happy everyone is speaking so well about wrestling but the job is not yet done,” said Lalovic, who took over from Swiss Raphael Martinetti following February’s shock vote.
“We did everything possible in this short period. We hope we did enough,” said the burly Serb. “We implemented and not only decided. We have changed the whole sport and already implemented all these in the junior and cadet world championships.”
For baseball and softball the vote is the peak of an eight-year battle to return to the Games after the two sports were taken off the Olympic programme in 2005. The two sports have since created a joint confederation in a bid to increase their chances to return as a single sport.
Squash has also pulled out all the stops with top players backing the bid and highlighting its rising global popularity and even had top tennis players Andy Murray and Roger Federer join the call for Olympic squash among several non-squash celebrities.
Whether they will manage to convince the IOC membership of the added value the sports brings to the Games in their final presentation in Argentina remains to be seen. REUTERS
