The five sports that were proposed for the 2020 Summer Games are baseball/softball, karate, skateboard, sport climbing and surfing, with the final decision to be made on extra events next summer.
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Under the “Olympic Agenda 2020” program adopted by the global Olympic Committee(IOC) last December, host cities are allowed to propose one or more additional events for their games.
“Tokyo 2020’s decision to propose our sport is a “home run” and giant leap forward for baseball and softball“, said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.
The eight sports made 15-minute presentations to the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee in August, and fielded questions during a 30-minute follow-up session.
If accepted, organisers say that an additional 474 athletes would take part in the Games.
“Surfing would be an absolutely unbelievable addition to the Tokyo 2020 Games and I can’t wait for the opportunity to represent my country on the greatest sporting stage. The ISA has been riding an fantastic wave in this journey for Olympic inclusion and we are thrilled that Tokyo 2020 recognise the exceptional value and youthful lifestyle that surfing can bring to the 2020 Games”.
The IOC has caused controversy in the past by including sports where an Olympic medal is not seen as the “pinnacle” of achievement.
Karate, another sport that is widely participated in Japan, has been proposed for eight events: two in the Kata discipline, with 20 athletes across the men’s and women’s events, and six in the Kumite discipline, which would feature a total of 60 athletes, 30 in each gender.
“Surfing’s worldwide growth over the past few years, its loyal and enthusiastic fans combined with its globally recognized athletes makes it an ideal sport to showcase on the Olympic stage”.
Mitarai said the panel discussed three basic criteria in the selection of the sports – they must attract young people, help liven up the Tokyo Games and be chosen through a highly transparent and fair process.
Meanwhile, the President of the World Squash Federation N Ramachandran was “devastated” and the news that his sport was left off the list.
“The IOC is very happy to receive the Tokyo 2020 proposal on the additional sports events to be considered for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020”.
The organising committee approved the recommendations from a list of eight finalists.
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The preparations for the games haven’t gone too smoothly so far for Japan. So therefore, Baseball and Softball are proposed to be added for the multi-nation tournament after having been out since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After trying separate bids and failing to be reinstated, the confederation was formed.
