On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected wrestling, squash and baseball/softball as potential additions to the 2020 summer Olympic Games, according to their official Twitter account. The three were selected from a list of eight in a vote that slashed karate, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu from the running.
The IOC will meet in Buenos Aires, Argentina September 7-10 to determine which of the three shortlisted sports will be added to the programme along with golf and rugby, which were added in 2009 to appear in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“It was never going to be an easy decision but I feel my colleagues on the board made a good decision in selecting baseball/softball, squash and wrestling to be put forward in Buenos Aires,” IOC President Jacques Rogge reported to olympic.org. “I wish the three shortlisted sports the best of luck in the run-up to the vote in September and would like to thank the other sports for their hard work and dedication.”
The three sports have been previously eliminated from the program by the committee, yet all make strong cases for an appeal and still hold hope for a resurgence on the international stage in 2020.
The decision will be made based on a set of 39 criteria, including youth appeal, universality, popularity, good governance, respect for athletes and respect for the Olympic values, according to BBC Sport.